Anisul Huq assaulted on court premises

Former law minister Anisul Huq was assaulted at the exit of a courtroom in Narayanganj yesterday afternoon allegedly by lawyers.

According to witnesses and journalists, Anisul was being taken to a prison van after a hearing when allegedly some lawyers slapped and punched him.

Earlier, Anisul was produced before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Moinuddin Kadir for a remand hearing in the murder case of Hafiz Soleiman, who was killed during the July uprising, said Inspector Md Kaium Khan, in-charge of the court police outpost.

The court granted the Criminal Investigation Department a four-day remand to interrogate him, he added.

A witness, requesting anonymity, said some lawyers were chanting slogans demanding death penalty for Anisul when he was being brought to the court. Those lawyers assaulted him, the witness said.

Video clips of the incident have gone viral.

At the time of the assault, Anisul was seen wearing a police helmet. On duty police personnel swiftly escorted him away and put him inside the prison van.

The whole incident lasted three-five seconds.

The lawyers continued chanting slogans while Anisul was inside the prison van.

Lawyer Sakhawat Hossain Khan, convener of the city BNP who was at the scene, said, "Anisul Huq had promised to give Tk 1 lakh for the development of Narayanganj Bar Association when he was a minister. But he didn't and the junior lawyers were angry with him, so there was some tension."

Contacted, Court Inspector Kaium Khan told The Daily Star, "There was chaos when he [Anisul Huq] was leaving the courtroom, but I did not see anyone assaulting him."