Ex-Cantonment OC denied bail in sedition case
The defence claims police failed to produce any evidence linking Rakibul Hasan to the alleged offence after two rounds of remand.
A Dhaka court today (1 October) rejected the bail plea of former Cantonment Police Station officer-in-charge Rakibul Hasan, a day after he was sent to jail following two rounds of remand in a sedition case over alleged anti-state and provocative statements on social media.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Monirul Islam passed the order after a hearing on the bail petition.
Rakibul's lawyer Morshed Hossain Shahin confirmed the matter to The Business Standard, saying the defence had applied for bail yesterday and the court had fixed today for the hearing.
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He also said the court rejected the bail plea without citing any apparent reason.
During the hearing, lawyer Shahin claimed Rakibul was not involved in the incident and that police had failed to produce any evidence linking him to the alleged offence during the remand period.
He also claimed Rakibul had been politically implicated in the case.
The court had initially granted Rakibul five days' remand on 24 September and a further two days on 28 September. After completing the two rounds, he was sent to jail yesterday.
Police said Rakibul was arrested in the sedition case over allegations that he had spread anti-state and provocative statements on social media.
The case stems from an audio recording that surfaced on social media on 17 September.
In the recording, the speaker is heard making various comments about the government, administration, army and police. The remarks included allegations of political affiliations among senior police officials and financial transactions in the posting of OCs.
The speaker is also heard discussing ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's possible return to Bangladesh, including saying that "nothing will happen" if she returns in December and that "police will not be able to stop her."
After the audio went viral, DMP Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed signed an office order withdrawing Rakibul from his post as Cantonment Police Station OC and attaching him to the central reserve office under the DMP headquarters and administration division. The order cited "administrative reasons" for his withdrawal.
Several police sources had initially identified the voice in the audio as Rakibul's. He, however, claimed in a Facebook post that the recording had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Rakibul was taken to the DMP Detective Branch office for questioning on the night of 17 September. The DMP also formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, the DMP appointed Inspector Mohammad Gias Uddin as the new OC of Cantonment Police Station on 24 September.
