5 BCL, Jubo League men held from Zahid Maleque’s Dhaka residence over Manabendra home arson
Confirming the arrests, Manikganj Sadar police Officer-in-Charge SM Amanullah said, “So far, 13 individuals have been arrested in connection with this case”
Police have arrested five activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Awami Jubo League from the Gulshan residence of former health minister Zahid Maleque over their suspected involvement in the arson attack at artist Manabendra Ghosh's home in Manikganj.
A team from Manikganj Sadar Police Station, with support from Gulshan police and the Detective Branch (DB), conducted the raid yesterday (3 May). The detainees were later shown arrested in a case filed over torching of the artist's house in Manikganj's Gorpara union.
Confirming the arrests, Manikganj Sadar police Officer-in-Charge SM Amanullah said, "So far, 13 individuals have been arrested in connection with this case."
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The five newly arrested suspects will be produced before the court this afternoon (4 May), with a seven-day remand appeal, the OC said.
All five arrestees hail from different areas within the same union – Chandair village – which is also home to Zahid and Manbendra.
The detainees are former vice-president of Manikganj Sadar upazila BCL and joint convener of the upazila Jubo League Md Uzzal Hossain, 35, former vice-president of district BCL Masud Rana, 35, Jubo League activist Mir Saifullah Safi, 38, and BCL activists Abid Hasan, 24 and Hridoy Hossain, 24.
According to police, Manbendra began receiving threats on social media ahead of Pahela Baishakh after some miscreants accused him of creating an image resembling ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. While he initially did not take the threats seriously, he eventually became fearful for his safety.
On the evening of 15 April, Manbendra filed a general diary (GD) at the Manikganj Sadar Police Station over concerns for his and his family's safety. Later that night, a fire was set at his home in Chandair village.
On 16 April, he filed a case with Sadar police against unidentified individuals over the arson incident. Police launched an investigation and, based on leads, conducted the operation at Zahid Maleque's house yesterday.
The five detainees were taken to Manikganj Sadar Police Station last night.
