43 Jessore BNP men land in jail

BNP leader and Jessore municipality Mayor Maruful Islam along with other party activists being taken to jail as the court rejected their bail petition in two cases filed by police centring a human chain in the town on October 1. PHOTO: STAR

Forty-three political activists, mostly belonging to BNP and its front organisations, landed in jail after they appeared before the court with bail prayers yesterday.  

The 43 men, including a few prominent leaders and public representatives in the district, sought bail to the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Maruf Ahmed but the court rejected the petition and ordered sending them to jail.

Among the detainees are Shamsul Huda, acting president of Jessore district unit of BNP, Maruful Islam, mayor of Jessore municipality, and president of Jessore town unit of BNP, Abdus Samad Biswas, mayor of Keshabpur municipality, and president of municipality BNP, Nistar Faruk, chairman of Monirampur union parishad, Rafiqur Rahman Toton and Abdus Sabur Mandol, vice presidents of Jessore district BNP, Delwar Hossain Khokon, organizing secretary of district BNP, Noor-un-Nabi, president of Jessore Sadar upazila BNP, Kazi Azam, general secretary, Aninda Islam Amit, executive editor of daily Loksamaj, also son of BNP standing committee member Tariqul Islam, Ehsanul Haque Munna, president of Jessore unit of Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, youth wing of BNP, Rabiul Islam, president of Jessore unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, student wing of BNP, another leader Sheikh Asadullah Asad, and Nizamuddin Amit, general secretary of Jessore district unit of Jagpa.

Earlier on October 1, a number of people were injured as the police swooped on a human chain organised by BNP on the premises of Jessore Press Club in protest against the then post and telecommunications minister Abdul Latif Siddique's derogatory comment on Hajj.

Asgar Hossain, sub inspector of Kotwali police station, filed two cases -- one under Anti-terrorism Act and the other on charge of assaulting police, against 146 people including BNP men.

The police picked up Syed Saberul Haque Sabu, general secretary of district unit of BNP, and several others from the spot.

Local shopkeeper Aminul Islam Kamal was critically wounded as he received in his lungs shotgun pellets fired point-blank by police that day.

He fought for life in hospital for over a month, still cuffed to the bed.

On November 9, police sent him to Jessore Central Jail in the two cases.