Annie wasn't tortured, he lied in court: Home Minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday said BNP Publicity Secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, who was arrested in two cases, was not tortured but he lied in the court.

"Annie did not take bail. So, he was arrested by the law enforcers. He was not tortured. But he brought false allegations in court. No door of his house was broken (during the arrest). He lied to draw attention of the court," he said.

The minister made the remarks in response to a question from journalists after the autumn festival, organised by Satyen Sen artists' group at Bakultala of Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University.

He said that warranted accused have to go to the court for taking bail, adding, "But Annie did not take bail. What he said in the court is false because he could not show any evidence of torture. Police did not torture him. There are CCTV cameras. We did not find the evidence. Annie is still in the white dress, which he wore."

About the allegation of breaking Annie's door, the home minister said that security forces always work to maintain law and order in the country. "We always say -those who are accused in a case to go to the court and take bail. But police went to arrest Annie as he did not take bail. It is the duty of the police," he insisted.

Kamal said that police requested Annie's relatives to open the door, but they did not respond to police and later police knocked on the door.

Police arrested Annie from his Dhanmondi house on 10 October and later produced him before the court in a sabotage case. The court granted a four-day remand after hearing the case.