60 criminal cases against Selim dropped in 4 months
The government has withdrawn 60 criminal cases out of 120 against former Awami League lawmaker Haji Mohammad Selim in last four months terming the charges “politically motivated and meant for harassment.”
Selim is an accused of highest number of criminal cases filed against an individual in Bangladesh.
His counsel Pran Nath told The Daily Star that following Selim's instruction he had earlier filed appeals for withdrawal of the cases as the government had decided to withdraw such “politically motivated cases.”
He said the government have also decided to withdraw 35 other cases and asked Additional District Magistrate to take necessary steps in this regard. Another 25 cases have been disposed of through “mutual understanding” between the complainants and the accused.
Seventeen other cases have also been disposed of through mutual understanding.
Earlier the government had decided to withdraw around 4,500 cases saying those were “politically motivated and meant for harassment.” Of the cases, two were filed against former law minister Moudud Ahmed and BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman.
The charges Selim is now facing include murder, attempt to murder, extortion, theft, holding unlawful assembly, and obstructing police from discharging their duties.
Most of the cases withdrawn earlier on different dates were filed during the last BNP-led government.
Former BNP lawmaker of Lalbagh constituency Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, political rival of Selim, was acquitted in 76 lawsuits during the BNP-led government, sources at the metropolitan public prosecutor's office said.
Selim, also joint secretary general of Dhaka city unit AL, was sent to jail on May 20 last year after he surrendered before a Dhaka court in a graft case in which he was sentenced to 13 years' in absentia. He was later released on bail from the High Court.
Of the 120 cases filed against Selim, three cases have been filed for killing while seven for theft, one for extortion, 10 for attempting to murder, 28 for holding unlawful assembly and damaging vehicles, nine for obstructing the work of police and seven for keeping illegal arms.
The cases have been filed under the law and order disruption offences act, special powers act, arms and explosive substances act, company act, anti-corruption commission act and the Penal Code with different police stations.
Terming the cases "fake" in his petitions filed with the Dhaka district magistrate, Haji Selim said the cases have been filed against him and his political colleagues with “political motives to harass them.”
"The government had decided to withdraw false cases with political motives. Following the government's decision, the cases filed against me and my political colleagues need to be withdrawn," Selim said in his petitions.
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