NCP’s Akhtar Hossain acquitted in 2 cases linked to 2021 Modi visit protests
On 28 December, Akhtar Hossain surrendered in the two cases and was granted bail.
Akhtar Hossain, secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has been acquitted in two separate cases filed at Shahbagh Police Station on charges of attempted murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, and obstructing government work, stemming from protests against India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2021 visit to Bangladesh.
The acquittal was ordered on Tuesday (13 January) following a hearing by the courts of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Awlad Hossain Mohammad Junaid and Jashita Islam.
Confirming the development, Akhtar Hossain's lawyer Md Mujahidul Islam said the defence had recently applied to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking withdrawal of the cases.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"The ministry subsequently issued a gazette approving the withdrawal. Today, we submitted a copy of that gazette to the court along with applications for acquittal, and after hearing, the court granted the acquittal order," he said.
Earlier on 28 December, Akhtar Hossain had surrendered in the two cases and was granted bail.
According to case details, three cases were filed against Akhtar Hossain at Shahbagh Police Station in connection with protests opposing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit in 2021.
On 13 April 2021, during Ramadan, Akhtar Hossain distributed iftar items among underprivileged people in the Dhaka University area. He was arrested at the time from in front of the Central Shaheed Minar and later shown arrested in the Shahbagh Police Station cases.
Sources said a total of six cases were filed against Akhtar Hossain during the tenure of the Awami League government.
He had already been acquitted in four of those cases, while the remaining two were dismissed with Tuesday's acquittal order.
