9 accused sent to jail over attack on Daily Star
Nine accused have been sent to jail in the case filed over attack, looting and arson at the office of the English daily The Daily Star.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam issued the order today, Tuesday.
The accused are Rajshahi’s Mainul Islam, 22; Dhaka’s Zulfikar Ali Saurav, 22; Mymensingh’s Almas Ali, 29; Noakhali’s Zubayer Hossain, 21; Sylhet’s Ainul Haq Kashemi, 30; Noakhali’s Abdul Rahman Palash, 30; Rangpur’s Jannatul Naeem, 21; Shariatpur’s Qari Muazbin A. Rahman, 34; and Chandpur’s Faisal Ahmed, 24.
The lawyer representing the state, Shamsuddoha Sumon said that the accused were produced in court today, Tuesday, and the case’s investigating officer, Tejgaon police inspector Md Ashik Iqbal, filed an application to keep the accused in jail.
Lawyers appeared on behalf of four of the accused and applied for their bail. It was opposed by the state. After hearing both sides, the judge rejected the bail plea of the four and ordered nine of the accused to be sent to jail.
Md Mizanur Rahman, head of operations at The Daily Star, filed a case yesterday, Monday, 22 December, at Tejgaon police station over the attack, looting, and arson at the newspaper’s office. The case mentions 350 to 400 unknown individuals as accused.
The case alleges that on the night of 18 December, around 12:35 am, a group of attackers entered the building carrying sticks and flammable materials while shouting provocative slogans.
The attackers physically assaulted Daily Star staff, looted cash and various equipment, set fire to multiple floors of the building, and destroyed critical infrastructure, including the fire safety system and CCTV.
In this incident, over 200 electronic devices worth around Tk 50 million and cash of Tk 3.5 million were looted. It is initially estimated that the total loss amounts to approximately Tk 400 million.
During the attack, 30 employees were rescued. As a result of the incident, the print edition of the Daily Star had to be suspended the following day, and its online operations were halted for nearly 17 hours.
Meanwhile, over 400 to 500 unidentified individuals have been made accused in a case over the attack, vandalism, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar on the same night.
The case was filed at Tejgaon police station around 12:10 am last Monday under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Special Powers Act, and Cyber Security Ordinance. In this case, 15 people were sent to jail yesterday.