Gayeshwar sent to jail in arson case

A Dhaka court yesterday sent BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy to jail after he surrendered before it in an arson case following an arrest warrant issued by the court.

Judge Kamrul Hossain Mollah of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after Gayeshwar surrendered before it and sought bail in the case.

On Tuesday, the same court issued arrest warrants for Gayeshwar, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Salahuddin Ahmed and 32 others in the arson case filed in December 2013.

The order came after Gayeshwar and 34 others remained absent from the court on that day.

Salahuddin was earlier arrested in India for illegal trespass and is now in jail there.

In March, police pressed charges against 49 BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists, including the BNP leaders, in a case filed for torching a vehicle at Malibagh Chowdhury Para on December 29, 2013.

On the day, police and the then BNP-led 18-party alliance (now 20-party alliance) activists were locked in a clash after the combine brought out a procession in support of BNP's March for Democracy which was set for that day.

Of the 49 charge-sheeted, 14 people, including BNP leaders Amanullah Aman and Mirza Abbas, were earlier given bail in the case.