55 BCL men sued over assault on prosecutor

A case was filed yesterday against 55 Chhatra League leaders and activists over the assault on an assistant public prosecutor (APP) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

Prabal Chowdhury, also a former BCL leader, filed the case under the Speedy Trial Tribunal Act at the Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, three days after he was assaulted in the city's Dariapara area on Thursday night.

Nazmul Islam, president of Sylhet district unit BCL; Rahel Siraj, general secretary of the same unit; Nayeem Ahmed, general secretary of Sylhet city unit BCL; and Ruhel Ahmed, newly-elected councillor of ward-32 of Sylhet City Corporation, were named in the case, among 51 others.

Besides, another 250 to 300 unnamed people were also accused in the case.

Mohaimin Chowdhury, an assistant public prosecutor of the Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, confirmed the case details and said that Judge Suman Bhuiyan received the case and ordered Kotwali Police Station to record the case as an FIR and forward it to the court.

In the case statement, Prabal Chowdhury stated that he had posted Facebook statuses criticising the formation of some recently announced BCL units under the district and city units, as well as the involvement of a few BCL leaders in the illegal smuggling of sugar from India.

The former members of the BCL central committee mentioned in the statement that he was attacked and that his business establishment was vandalised because of the posts.

He also stated in the statement that Nazmul Islam, Rahel Siraj, and Nayeem Ahmed were carrying firearms and opened fire during the attack.

After the attack, the BCL central committee on Friday formed a four-member probe body to investigate the matter and submit a report as soon as possible.

Sunny Mohammad Akash, central deputy office secretary of BCL, told UNB that action would be taken against those found guilty as per the party rules.