Already in jail, BNP leader shown arrested for hurling bomb!

Chattogram police have shown a BNP leader arrested on charges of hurling a crude bomb surprisingly when he was already in jail.

The incident took place at the court of magistrate Abu Salem Mohammad Noman on Sunday.

Abul Hashem, general secretary of main opposition BNP's Chattogram city unit, has been in jail since 22 October. Law enforcers filed a total of 12 cases against him including sabotage.

But Chandgaon police station sub-inspector, Ashim Das, filed a petition on Wednesday with the court for showing Hashem arrested in a case of hurling a crude bomb.

According to the case statement, police had evidence of Hashem's complicity in the attack that was launched on 2 November. Ironically, the opposition leader was in jail at the time.

On Sunday, Hashem was produced before the court from jail. But before the hearing began, SI Ashim had filed a petition with the court for not showing the BNP leader arrested in the case.

Hashem's lawyer Abdus Sattar told the court, the police stepped into a ‘self-made trap’ in their attempt to show his client arrested in a ‘fictitious’ case.
"If Hashem was in jail on 2 November, how could he carry out the attack in Chandgaon?" the lawyer asked.

When asked about this, SI Ashim said it was a mistake and apologised to the court, said the court insiders.

Instead of showing Hashem arrested in the case, the court sent him back to jail.

Hashem is not the only example of such 'mistakes'.

North Agrabad BNP unit's convener, SM Faridul Alam, was shown arrested in a case of hurling a crude bomb in the Double Mooring thana of the port city on 12 December. But the BNP leader has been in jail since 26 October.

* This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Imam Hossain and Nusrat Nowrin.