Kibria killing accused Arif gets bail, no bar to release

A local court today granted bail to Sylhet city’s suspended mayor Ariful haque Chowdhury in case filed in connection with the killing of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.

Habiganj District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Atabullah passed the 15-day bail order, paving way for Ariful’s release from jail, said the accused’s lawyer Monjur Uddin Ahmed.

“The bail was granted on the grounds that Ariful’s mother is ill,” he told The Daily Star.

Earlier in the day, Ariful filed a bail petition with the court. After hearing, the court granted him bail for 15 days. He was sacked from his post of Sylhet city mayor in January last year.

On January 27, 2005, five people including then Awami League-backed finance minister Kibria were killed in a grenade attack in Boidyer Bazar of Habiganj district.

On November 13, 2014, police filed a supplementary charge sheet against 35 people. The freshly-indicted accused included Arif and Habiganj Mayor GK Gaus as well as Harris Chowdhury, a former political adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Ariful surrendered before a district court in the murder case on December 30, 2014.