Court orders Shirin Sharmin to be sent to jail, details in DB remand plea

A court has ordered former speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to be sent to jail, rejecting a police request to place her on remand.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) had sought a two-day remand in a case filed with Lalbagh police station over violence, vandalism and attempted murder during the mass uprising.

The defence sought bail, requesting the court to reject the remand plea. The court, however, rejected both the remand and the bail petitions.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was produced before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court after 1:00 pm today, Tuesday, from the DB office. The hearing was held in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana.

Earlier, the DB showed her arrested in the case and sent her to court. In the remand petition, DB said that the accused needed to be taken on remand to identify the whereabouts of absconding suspects, arrest them, and to collect necessary evidence.

The plea was submitted by the case’s investigating officer, DB inspector Mohsin Uddin, to the chief metropolitan magistrate.

According to the petition, on 18 July 2024, as part of the quota reform movement, unarmed students and public were holding a peaceful procession in the Azimpur Government Colony area of Lalbagh. At that time, police and unidentified individuals associated with the Awami League allegedly opened fire using local and foreign firearms to suppress the movement.

In the incident, protester Md Ashraful Fahim sustained gunshot injuries to his left eye, head and other parts of his body. He filed the case with Lalbagh Police Station on 17 July last year, added the petition.

In the case, the plaintiff alleged that, on the instructions of Awami League president and then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, police personnel and unidentified individuals opened fire using local and foreign firearms on unarmed students and public under the direction and planning of Biplab Barua, Obaidul Quader and Asaduzzaman Khan. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is listed as the third accused in the case.

The plaintiff said that after being shot, he was rescued by locals and taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. After initial treatment, he underwent surgery at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and was later referred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology. According to physicians, he lost vision in his left eye from the incident.

The first information report also states that around 31 protesters were killed on 18 July during a “complete shutdown” programme. The main accused Sheikh Hasina and the third accused Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, along with others, were involved in key state decision-making, and the incident allegedly occurred under their direct and indirect instructions.

In its petition, the DB also provided details of Shirin Sharmin's interrogation. It stated that during questioning, the accused disclosed her identity and admitted involvement in the incident. However, when asked about the case and absconding suspects, she allegedly avoided answering questions tactically.

The DB said that if taken into police custody and subjected to thorough interrogation, there was a possibility of obtaining information necessary to identify and arrest absconding suspects and to uncover the full details of the case. It also argued that if granted bail, the accused might abscond permanently and obstruct the investigation.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was detained early in the morning today, Tuesday from a relative’s residence in Dhanmondi. Earlier in the day, DB additional commissioner Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that information had been found about six cases against her, including a murder case related to the mass uprising. Final reports have already been submitted in three of those cases, while the remaining three are under investigation.