Fakhrul, Abbas denied bail again, BNP to hold demo Tuesday

A Dhaka court has rejected the bail petitions of 224 BNP leaders, including the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas, in a case filed over the 7 December Nayapaltan clash.

BNP leader Mosharraf Hossain Monday (12 December) announced that the party will hold a demonstration in front of the party's Nayapaltan central office on Tuesday to protest the arrests of its top leaders and the death of an activist in the clash between police and the party activists.

After Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shafiuddin denied the bail pleas on Monday, BNP lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder told The Business Standard that Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas were not named in the case statements and their bail was sought on this ground.

"Alos, both of them suffer from age-related complications, which require regular consultations with physicians," Masud said.

"We have told the court that the investigation of this case is ongoing but granting bail to some of the party leaders will not affect the investigation as it is a political case," said the BNP advocate.

However, Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu told TBS that the BNP leaders and activists including Fakhrul and Abbas had planned the attacks and subversive activities in the name of movement, as well as obstructed police work.

"If these accused get bail in this case, they will hamper the investigation and cause more loss of life and property in the name of their ongoing movement. Therefore, the state strongly moved against their bail until the investigation is over," the state prosecutor said, adding that after hearing the arguments of both sides, the court ruled in favour of the state.

Syed Zainul Abedin Mesbah, another lawyer representing the BNP in this case, told TBS that the BNP leaders and activists had gathered in Nayapaltan for a peaceful rally but police attacked and killed one party man and injured many others.

At the hearing, he said, the court was informed about the numerous video footage circulating on various social media platforms, in which there was no evidence of the involvement of these leaders and activists. 

On Friday, a Dhaka court sent Mirza Fakhrul and Abbas to jail rejecting their bail petitions in the case.

In the wee hours of Friday, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas from their residences in the capital city.

Later they were shown arrested in a case filed under the Explosive Substances Act with the Paltan Police Station over Wednesday's clash. A total of three cases have been lodged over the incident so far.

They were accused of instigating, planning and directing an attack on police, crude bomb explosions, and destroying public property and lives.

A Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in the clash between the police and the BNP activists in front of the party's Nayapaltan central office ahead of its 10 December rally.

Following the clash on Thursday, a Dhaka court sent 445 BNP leaders and activists including Annie and Salam to jail in two cases filed over the mayhem.

'Police, AL men vandalised, plundered BNP office'

At Monday's press briefing, Khandaker Mosharraf said, "The government obstructed all our party gatherings and the latest attempt went beyond our imagination. The government's attitude on 7 December proves that they are trying to cling to power by force."

The BNP Standing Committee member claimed police and Awami League activists have vandalised the BNP party office and plundered its account section.

"Such an attack on a political party's central office is unprecedented in the country and across the globe. We did not even see such incidents during the Liberation War," he told reporters while visiting the party's headquarters in the capital's Nayapaltan area on Monday.

"Our office doors were destroyed and the chairperson's room which usually remains locked was vandalised. All the photos on the walls and the mural of Ziaur Rahman were disfigured," he said.

The senior BNP leader also alleged that the members of the law enforcement agencies took away their computer hard drives and all the files during raids following Wednesday's clash, just three days before the party's divisional gathering in Dhaka.

On that day, police and BNP activists clashed in front of the BNP office, leaving one dead and dozens wounded. Police raided the BNP office immediately after the clash.

The opposition party's headquarters were closed down from the clash day to Sunday last.

BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and several other senior leaders were also present during Monday's visit.