3, including Emi, sent to jail in Anti-Terrorism Act case

A Dhaka court has sent three people, including former general secretary of Slogan '71' Sheikh Tasnim Afroz Emi, to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Shahbagh Police Station.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order today (8 March) after police produced the accused before the court and sought to keep them in custody, according to court sources.

The other two accused are Md Asif Ahmed Shoikot, former employment affairs secretary of the banned Chhatra League's Shahidullah Hall unit of Dhaka University, and Abdullah Al Mamun, another leader of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall unit.

The investigation officer of the case and Sub-Inspector of Shahbagh Police Station, Md Ashadul Islam, submitted a plea seeking their detention in jail.

According to the case statement, around 3pm yesterday, several members of banned organisations, including Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League, gathered at the Shahidullah Hall crossing under Shahbagh Police Station and were playing the "7 March" speech.

Acting on information, police went to the scene and caught Shoikot red-handed with the help of locals while he was trying to flee.

Later, around 9:20pm, Mamun and Emi, along with 10-15 unidentified individuals, gathered in front of Gate No 1 of the National Museum.

The accused chanted provocative slogans toward the mosque using loudspeakers and attempted to revive the activities of the Awami League as part of an anti-government conspiracy, it added.

The case statement also said the accused obstructed police duties and tried to snatch Shoikot from police custody.

At that time, a group of students led by Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) representative AB Jubayer and Mohammad Mosaddeq detained Mamun and Emi and handed them over to the police.

Following the incident, police filed a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Shahbagh Police Station today.