Mahmudur on 8-day fresh remand

Mahmudur Rahman, acting editor of the recently closed daily Amar Desh, was placed on eight days' remand yesterday in two more cases filed on sedition and terrorism charges.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ismail Hossain passed the order after Mahmudur Rahman was produced before it with a prayer for 20-day remand for him in connection with the two cases.
Earlier, he was shown arrested in the cases and prayers for his remand were placed before the court.
With this, Mahmudur Rahman was remanded for twelve days' in four cases filed with different police stations on different dates.
Biman Bandar police on Monday filed the sedition case against Mahmudur Rahman and 15 other government high officials in connection with a “secret meeting” at a private firm office at Uttara, Dhaka on November 2006.
In his forwarding report, Sub-Inspector Azizur Rahman Sarkar, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, said that Mahmudur Rahman was holding a meeting with various government officials of different levels on November 24, 2006 at his Artisan Ceramics in the city's Uttara area.
They were conspiring against the caretaker government ahead of the national elections, which was at that time scheduled for January 22, 2007.
Of them, Mahmudur Rahman was the patron of the secret meeting. So, he needs to be remanded for ten days to find out the purposes of conspiracy and to arrest the absconding accused mentioned in the case, the IO said.
On the other hand, Mahmudur Rahman termed the allegations brought in the case false and fabricated. He thought that his dead body would come out from the jail.
He was brought to the court on a prison van with general prisoners at 9:30am. But he was not provided with water.
Mahmudur Rahman was also placed on a four-day remand in another case filed with Uttara Police Station for creating subversive activities across the country. But police sought a ten-day remand.
In the forwarding report, Detective Branch Inspector Nurul Amin, also the IO of the case, said that Mahmudur Rahman has a link with Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders including its chief Prof Mohiuddin Ahmed.
Moreover, Amar Desh printing press printed leaflets of banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation. So, he needs to be remanded to find out the clues about his links with the militant organisation, the IO said.
On Monday, he was remanded for four days in two cases filed with Kotwali and Tejgaon police stations on charges of obstructing policemen from discharging their duties on June 2.