Jhumon Das gets bail for one year, no bar on release
Jhumon Das from Shalla upazila in Sunamganj got bail on Thursday in a case filed under the Digital Security Act at Shalla police station in March this year.
A High Court bench comprising justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and justice KM Zahid Sarwar granted the bail for one year after a hearing on the bail plea.
The verdict, however, said Jhumon Das cannot go outside of Sunamganj without the court’s order.
Earlier, Jhumon Das sought bail in the case from the magistrate court on 18 July but that was turned down. Later, he sought bail from the sessions judge court and that was dismissed on 3 August. Following this, Jhumon’s lawyer pleaded for his bail from the High Court. Court completed hearing on the plea on 21 September and set 23 September for the order.
ZI Khan Panna, Nahid Sultana and Ashraf Ali represented Jhumon Das in the court while assistant attorney general Md Mizanur Rahman represented the state.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Ashraf Ali said, “The High Court has granted one year’s bail to Jhumon. There’s no bar on his release.”
Earlier, on 15 March, Hefazat-e-Islam’s leaders at the time, Junaid Babunagari and Mamunul Haque, spoke at a rally in Sunamganj’s Derai upazila centering Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh. Jhumon Das, from Noagaon village under Habibpur union parishad of Shalla upazila, allegedly posted an objectionable Facebook status about Mamunul Haque.
Following this, people of the village handed Jhumon over to police on 16 March and he was produced before a court on the following day. The court sent him to jail.
Meanwhile, over a hundred people attacked the Hindu community of Noagaon village centring the Facebook post on 17 March. They vandalised around 90 houses and temples of the village and looted the houses.
A case was filed with Shalla police station over the incident of attack on Noagaon village while a case under Digital Security Act was filed against Jhumon Das with the same police station on 22 March. Sub-inspector Md Abdul Karim filed the case against Jhumon, who was shown arrested in the case on 23 March.
Jhumon Das was sent on two-day remand on 30 March for interrogation in connection with the case.
Sunamganj lawyer Debangshu Shekhar Das is the lawyer of the case filed against Jhumon.
Debangshu Shekhar said persons accused of vandalism of the Hindu community’s houses are out on bail but Jhumon is in jail for six months.