Petitions in arson case rejected

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected petitions challenging the legality of charge framing against 46 opposition leaders including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in an arson case and speedy trial.
The case was filed in connection with torching of a bus near the Prime Minister's Office during hartal hours on April 29.
Meanwhile, the High Court fixed today for hearing a writ petition seeking stay on the proceedings of the same case.
On July 29, an accused of the case Mahbub Uddin Khokon filed a writ petition with the HC, challenging the legality of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's decision to give judicial power to Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Erfan Ullah for conducting a speedy trial of the case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Harun-or-Rashid on July 31 framed charges against the accused in the case.
Lawyers of BNP leaders Fakhrul, MK Anwar and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Oli Ahmed, president of Liberal Democratic Party, submitted two criminal revision petitions challenging the legality of the charge framing.
In the petition, the defence claimed that the court's order indicting their clients was not acceptable as it had not given them enough time to prepare.
Judge Md Zohurul Haque of the Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court rejected the petitions as the court considered the charge framing order to be proper and legal and did not find any strong grounds for filing of the petitions.
Two BNP leaders -- Aman Ullah Aman and Nazimuddin Alam -- got bail yesterday, in the case.
Earlier on July 31, a metropolitan magistrate cancelled their bail orders and issued arrest warrants.