Court rejects remand plea, sends Shirin Sharmin to jail
Detectives arrested Shirin Sharmin early today at a residence in Dhanmondi and brought her to the DB office for preliminary interrogation.
A Dhaka court has rejected a two-day remand plea for former parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and ordered to send her to jail in a case filed over the alleged attempted murder of Ashraful, also known as Fahim, in the capital's Lalbagh area during the July Uprising.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Juel Rana passed the order this afternoon (7 April) rejecting the Detective Branch's remand application to question the accused.
The police brought the accused to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court from the DB office at 1:55pm. She was initially kept in the court lockup and later brought to the courtroom at 3:10pm under tight security.
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According to the remand application, preliminary questioning suggested the involvement of the accused in the incident.
When questioned about the case, she reportedly avoided answering key questions.
Bringing her into police custody for intensive and detailed questioning could help identify and arrest the absconding accused and uncover further details of the case, the application said.
The DB stressed that if granted bail, the accused might abscond permanently and hinder the investigation.
The case allegations note that the quota reform movement gained momentum on 18 July 2024. To suppress this student movement, the then Awami League government, along with the named and unnamed accused, allegedly opened fire on unarmed students with domestic and foreign firearms in Azimpur Government Colony under Lalbagh Police Station.
Ashraful, the plaintiff, was shot in his left eye (retina), head and other parts of the body during the protest, losing vision in his left eye, according to the case documents.
He was treated initially at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, later operated on at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and referred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital.
Several others were also reportedly injured or killed in the incident.
On 25 May last year, Ashraful filed a case against 130 people including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Detectives arrested Shirin Sharmin early today at a residence in Dhanmondi and brought her to the DB office for preliminary interrogation.
Shirin Sharmin resigned from the post of Speaker on 2 September 2024, 27 days after the fall of the Awami League government. She had served as speaker since 30 April 2013.
