Court shows former MP Sultan Mansur arrested in attempted murder case

A Dhaka court has ordered the arrest of former Moulvibazar-2 MP Sultan Mohammad Mansur Ahmed in a case over the alleged attempted murder of BNP activist Mushfiqur Rahman Abir during violence surrounding the party's rally in Naya Paltan on 10 December 2022.

The order was issued today (14 October) by Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Joshita Islam following a police application, Harun Or Rashid, a lawyer representing the state, confirmed.

Earlier, the case's investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Md Abu Saleh of Paltan Model Police Station, produced Mansur before the court and sought an order showing him arrested in the case.

The police application alleged that Mansur had directly or indirectly instructed and instigated the incidents. It said his arrest in the case was necessary for a proper investigation and in the interests of justice.

State lawyers argued in favour of the application, while lawyers for the accused opposed it. After hearing both sides, the court ordered that Mansur be arrested in the case.

According to the case statement, Abir, 28, was returning home after conducting publicity activities in the Kalabagan area ahead of the BNP's divisional rally in Dhaka on 10 December 2022 when the accused allegedly abducted him by force and confined him in a tannery warehouse.

He was allegedly subjected to severe physical torture in an attempt to kill him, and ransom was demanded from his family, the complaint said.

The complaint further alleged that an attack and gunfire took place outside the BNP's party office in Naya Paltan during the rally. It claimed that the accused and others jointly fired tear gas and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, leaving many party activists and members of the public shot and lying on the road. Abir was also shot, according to the complaint.

Abir filed the case, naming 98 people and accusing another 100 to 200 unidentified individuals.