Salahuddin's 'trespassing' case verdict deferred a third time

A court in India's Shillong yesterday once again deferred the delivery of verdict in a “trespassing” case filed against BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed.

This is the third time the court of Judge DG Khar Singh has deferred the delivery date.

Salahuddin, however, told The Daily Star over phone that even though the deferred date has not been posted on the official webpage of the court, he was verbally informed that the next date set for the delivery of the verdict is November 9. 

He also said he did not wish to make any comment on the judicial system of India, but he was frustrated over the delay in the delivery of verdict. 

Contacted, Salahuddin's lawyer SP Mahanta said, “It's a matter of the court. But I am frustrated as well.”

The verdict delivery in the case was deferred for the second time on September 28, when the date was rescheduled for yesterday, October 15. 

On the first scheduled date, August 13, the court could not deliver its judgement and moved the date to September 28.

According to Meghalaya police, Salahuddin -- a former state minister for communications under the last BNP-led government -- was found by locals on May 11, 2015 and was arrested by police for illegally entering Indian territory as he was “hanging around” in Shillong “without any travel documents”.

The next day, his wife informed the Bangladesh media that her husband had spoken with her over phone from Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences.  

Salahuddin's family members and the BNP claim that on March 10 in 2015, law enforcers in Bangladesh had picked him up from a house in Dhaka's Uttara.