Mahmudur quizzed at jail gate
Police interrogated arrested Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman at Dhaka Central Jail gate yesterday in a case filed in connection with resisting arrest, assault on law enforcers and preventing them from doing their job.
Following the interrogation, police went back to court and sought a five-day remand for him. The court fixed June 7 for hearing on the police plea.
Sub-Inspector of Tejgaon Police Station Rezaul Karim, investigation officer (IO) of the case, quizzed Mahmudur Rahman alone for around 25 minutes from 1:55pm, said jail officials.
"The IO came with the court order to interrogate Mahmudur Rahman and we just arranged it inside the jail gate," said a senior jail official on condition of anonymity. The official said there was no lawyer of Mahmudur Rahman present at the jail gate during the interrogation.
Tejgaon Police Station chief Mahbubur Rahman told The Daily Star that the investigation officer would interrogate him further if required.
Tejgaon police filed the case Wednesday morning hours after Mahmudur was arrested at the Amar Desh office at Karwan Bazar following a nightlong standoff between police and his supporters and employees.
The case was also filed against Amar Desh deputy editor and chief correspondent Syed Abdal Ahmed, assistant editor Sanjeeb Chowdhury, city editor Jahed Chowdhury, reporter Alauddin Arif, peon Saiful Islam and 100 unidentified people.
Police had gone to the daily's office to arrest him in connection with another case filed by former Amar Desh publisher Hasmat Ali, elder brother of Mosaddak Ali Falu, adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, with Tejgaon Industrial Police Station on charges of fraud.
After he was produced before the court in the police assault case, the court ordered him to be interrogate at the jail gate. The court denied the police request for a five-day remand.
Mahmudur, however, obtained bail in the case filed against him by Hasmat Ali.
The government cancelled the declaration of Amar Desh Tuesday citing that the paper has no publisher.
Comments