'I am innocent': Registered owner of motorcycle used in attack on Hadi tells court he had sold bike
He claimed he had sold the motorcycle to a showroom but that the ownership transfer had not been completed.
Md Abdul Hannan, the registered owner of the motorcycle used in the attempted assassination of Osman Hadi, told the court that he was innocent and had no knowledge of the incident.
Hannan made the statement during a remand hearing at the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam yesterday evening (14 December), where he claimed he had sold the motorcycle to a showroom but that the ownership transfer had not been completed.
Hannan told the court that he had purchased the motorcycle from Mirpur Mazar Road but stopped using it due to illness.
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"Later, I sold the motorcycle to a showroom. The ownership change was supposed to happen two months later. Though the showroom called me for the change of ownership, I could not go due to illness.
"When the police arrested me, I told them to investigate thoroughly. If necessary, take me to that showroom, then all the truth will come out. But they did not take me there. Instead, they filed a case and detained me at the police station. I am innocent. I know nothing about this incident," he told the court.
Earlier, Sub-Inspector Shamim Hasan of Paltan Model Police Station, the investigating officer in the case, produced Hannan before the court, showed him arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and sought a seven-day remand for further interrogation.
Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqui and Additional Public Prosecutor Shamsuddoha Sumon represented the state during the hearing.
Addressing the court, Faruqui said the motorcycle used in the attempted murder had been identified through media reports and investigation, adding that remanding the accused was necessary to determine how the motorcycle was used in the attack and whether the owner had any links to the assailants.
Additional Public Prosecutor Sumon said checks of the registration details showed Hannan as the owner of the motorcycle and alleged that the vehicle had been used in previous incidents.
He sought a seven-day remand, citing the need to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the attack.
No lawyer appeared on behalf of the accused during the hearing. At the end of the proceedings, the court allowed Hannan to make a statement.
After hearing both sides, the court granted a three-day remand for Hannan.
He was later taken to the custody area of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court under police security.
Hannan was detained from the Mohammadpur area of the capital on Saturday (13 December). During initial questioning, he admitted that the motorcycle was registered in his name.
According to investigators, CCTV footage from Friday (12 December) shows Sharif Osman Hadi, an aspiring independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency and spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha, being shot by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle.
After reviewing the footage, members of RAB-2 identified the motorcycle used in the attack and traced its ownership to Abdul Hannan.
