Fakhrul, 42 others sued for arson

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 42 other leaders of the BNP-led 20-party alliance have been sued in connection with the torching of a government bus at Paltan intersection on Sunday.

Abdul Malek Hawlader, assistant sub-inspector of Paltan Model Police Station, filed a case a day after the incident accusing 43 named and 20 to 25 unnamed people. In the case statement, the opposition leaders were accused of leading, ordering and advising party activists to carry out the arson attack with intent to deteriorate the law and order on the eve of a nationwide hartal called by the alliance.

The accused include senior BNP leaders Rafiqul Islam Miah, Mirza Abbas, Barkat Ullah Bulu, Amanullah Aman, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annee, Mir Sarafat Ali Safu and ZM Zahid Hossain, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman Andalib Rahman Partha and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Prof Mojibur Rahman and Rafiqul Islam Khan.

ASI Malek in the case statement mentioned that at least two homemade bombs had been exploded to kill the driver and helper of the bus carrying staff of the public administration ministry.

REMAND OF GOYESHWAR

A Dhaka court yesterday placed BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy on a two-day fresh remand in a case filed with Turag Police Station in connection with creating anarchy in Dhaka.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan passed the remand order after showing him arrested in the case.

Earlier, the Detective Branch of police produced him in the court with a 10-day remand prayer on completion of a three-day remand in a case filed in connection with the violence in Bakshibazar on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, some 200 Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders with iron rods and sticks swooped on BNP activists gathered at Bakshibazar to show their support for party chief Khaleda Zia who was scheduled to appear in a court in two graft cases.

The police earlier showed Goyeshwar arrested in a case filed with Shahbagh Police Station over an attack on ruling party's Netrakona-1 MP Chhabi Biswas near Dhaka Medical College Hospital, several hours after detectives had picked him up from a house in Siddheswari.

The arrest came a day after he vowed that the opposition alliance would hold rallies across the country blocking roads if the government obstructed a rally at Bhawal Badre Alam College in Gazipur.