Arms, Narcotics Cases: Erfan Salim on five-day remand

Mohammad Erfan Salim, son of Dhaka-7 lawmaker Haji Salim, and his bodyguard Zahidul Mollah, have been placed on a five-day remand each in four cases filed under the arms and narcotics control acts.

Dhaka's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Kaisarul Islam yesterday placed Erfan and Zahidul on a three-day remand each in two cases under the Arms Act filed with Chawkbazar Police Station on October 28.

Besides, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Sikder placed them on a two-day remand each in two cases filed under the Narcotics Control Act filed with the same police station the same day.

The courts passed the orders after Md Delwar Hossain, an inspector of Chawkbazar Police Station, and also the case's investigation officer, produced them before the courts with a 28-day remand prayer in four cases.The defence, however, submitted four petitions seeking cancellation of the remand prayers on grounds that during the drive law enforcers "tortured their clients and family members". Police filed the cases only to harass them, the defence added.

Police during a drive on October 27 seized five bottles of foreign liquor and a pistol with two rounds of bullets from Erfan, while 406 pieces of yaba pills and a pistol with four rounds of bullets from Zahidul.