Mirza Fakhrul denied bail, shown arrested in 9 cases

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was not granted bail in the case filed on the allegation of vandalising the residence of the chief justice. The High Court rejected the ruling on his bail in this case.

A High Court bench of justice Md Selim and Justice Shahed Nuruddin rendered the verdict after hearing the rule on Wednesday.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was shown arrested in 9 separate cases filed with the Paltan and Ramna police stations. The hearing on the bail pleas of these cases will be held in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court of Dhaka Wednesday.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate of the CMM court Md Sultan Sohag Uddin passed the order on Tuesday at noon. Earlier, Mirza Fakhrul was taken to the court custody from the jail at around 12:00 pm and was produced before the court after 1:00 pm.

At the beginning of the hearing, Mirza Fakhrul’s lawyer Asaduzzaman read out the high court order regarding the hearing of his bail plea in the court. Later, he filed an appeal to show Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir arrested in nine separate cases filed with the Paltan and Ramna police stations. The court granted the appeal.

After that, he argued in favour of Mirza Fakhrul’s bail. He told the court, “Mirza Fakhrul is 76 years old. He is ill. He has been imprisoned since 29 October. He has lost 5 kg weight since then. He is a diabetic patient.”

He also provided the court with the necessary medical information regarding Mirza Fakhrul’s health. He told the court according to the criminal code of conduct any elderly or sick person has the right to get bail. He said the BNP secretary general is an elderly person and also sick. He appealed to the court to consider his bail plea.

Mirza Fakhrul’s lawyer Asaduzzaman also quoted some lines from ‘The Unfinished Memoirs’ written by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman regarding sending opposition leaders to jail in false cases during the Pakistan period.

He claimed before the court the suppression of opposition still exists. They are being subjected to torture in various ways. They are being sent to the prisons in fabricated cases under political consideration.

Terming the nine cases filed against Mirza Fakhrul as politically motivated, he said there is no specific allegation against the BNP secretary general in any of these cases.

Asaduzzaman further said Shahjahan Omar was also accused in one of these nine cases. He was released on bail. After that he joined the Awami League leaving BNP and contested the polls.

Several lawyers, including Asaduzzaman, Syed Joynul Abedin and Omar Farukh Faruki, stood for Mirza Fakhrul in the court while additional public prosecutor Tapas Kumar Pal and Shah Alam presented the state.

Earlier, on 28 October, clashes broke out between the BNP activists and the police over the party’s grand rally. A police member was beaten to death. Agitated mob also vandalised the residence of the chief justice. The police also fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hurled sound grenades to diffuse the mob.

The BNP activists also hurled brickbats towards the police. They also set some vehicles on fire and blasted crude bombs. Several members of the police were severely injured in the clash. More than 100 leaders and activists of the BNP were injured in the incident. Several cases were filed over these incidents with the Paltan, Ramna, Motijheel and Shahjahanpur police stations.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mirza Fakhrul’s lawyer Syed Jaynul Abedin said the BNP secretary general has been accused in 10 cases filed by the police. Mirza Fakhrul was arrested in a case filed with the Ramna police station on 29 October.

His bail plea in that case was rejected in the lower court. The bail plea is now under proceedings in the High Court. Mirza Fakhrul’s lawyers appealed to the CMM court to show him arrested in the remaining nine cases. Mirza Fakhrul filed a writ in the High Court challenging the non-acceptance of the hearing of that application. Following that High Court ordered to accept his bail plea and settle the matter as per the law. As part of this, Mirza Fakhrul was shown arrested in the nine cases.