Former Jamaat MP Shahjahan denied bail

A Chittagong court yesterday turned down the bail petition of eight leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami including its former lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury and sent them back to jail in a case filed early last month under the special powers act.

Metropolitan Session Judge Akbar Hossen Mridha gave the order, said Public Prosecutor Fakhruddin Chowdhury.

Earlier, a court placed the eight on a two-day remand in the case on August 6, three days their arrest. Detectives of Chittagong Metropolitan Police detained them from a house in the city's Khulshi area.

After the arrest, detectives said Shahjahan and his seven associates gathered at the place to plot a sabotage plan taking advantage of the then ongoing road safety protests. Police later filed a case against them with Khulshi Police Station.

According to police, Shahjahan stands accused in 20 cases filed with different police stations in the district and city. He was elected MP from Lohagara constituency twice, and is the former nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat's Chittagong unit.