SC stays bail of 'top militant'
The Supreme Court yesterday stayed for three months a top militant suspect's bail that he obtained from the High Court over a month ago in two separate criminal cases.
The apex court stayed the bail of Fida Muntaseer Saker following two government petitions that said he was involved in militancy, and if released from jail on bail, he might carry out subversive activities against the state.
In primary interrogation after his arrest on June 7 last year from the capital's Banani DOHS, Saker said he recruited activists through internet and trained them at his house, according to police.
Officials said Saker was allegedly a coordinator of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). The banned militant outfit has been renamed Ansar al Islam, which is said to be the Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
Son of retired navy commander Md Saker, he also launched a new militant organisation called “Jund At-Tawheed Wal Khilafah”.
He had been collecting fund and firearms and recruiting activists to establish caliphate as desired by global terror outfit IS through toppling the government, detectives said after his arrest.
They seized a CPU, three laptops, three mobile phones, two hard disks, one passport, 21 different types of books, three leaflets and a notebook from his possession.
They also collected screenshots of his Facebook friend list and cover pages of different IS-related e-books from his e-mail account.
On June 18 and July 12 last year, Saker was shown arrested in two cases filed last year under the Anti Terrorism Act, 2009, on charges of planning subversive activities against the state.
One of the cases was filed with Uttara West Police Station on May 24 while the other with Cantonment Police Station on May 31.
Following two separate bail petitions filed by Saker, also a software engineer, the HC on June 16 this year granted him six months' bail as his name was not mentioned in the first information reports of the cases, Additional Attorney General M Momtaz Uddin Fakir told The Daily Star yesterday.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, yesterday stayed Saker's bail for the next three months after hearing two petitions filed by the government seeking stay on the HC orders.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that his office moves appeal before the apex court to halt the release of any militant suspect or alleged terrorist from jail immediately after it notices any such accused had got bail from the HC in any case.
Replying to a question, he said no such appeal is now pending with his office.
Earlier on June 13 this year, the SC cancelled an HC order that granted bail to suspected militant Abul Khair Rashid Ahammed in blogger Ananta Bijoy Das killing case.
Ananta was hacked to death by a group of masked men in Sylhet on May 12 last year.
The Appellate Division also ordered Abul Khair to surrender before the lower court concerned in a week.
It stayed another HC order that granted bail to alleged militant Golam Sarwar Rahat in a case filed for snatching away three convicted militants from a prison van in Mymensingh in 2014.
The apex court passed the orders after hearing two petitions filed by the government challenging the HC orders.
On February 23, 2014, an armed gang ambushed a prison van and snatched away three convicted Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants -- Rakib Hasan Russell alias Hafez Mahmud, Salauddin Ahmed alias Salehin and Zahidul Islam alias “Boma” Mizan.
Rakib and Salauddin were sentenced to death and “Boma” Mizan to 37 years in prison in different cases.
The ambush left a police constable killed.
According to the police, prosecution and Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, around 500 militant suspects got out on bail in the last few years, prompting the prime minister and some government ministers to urge the judges to be more circumspect in granting bail to militant suspects.
For example, Toriqul Islam, a leader of the banned Jama'atul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB), was arrested from Chittagong in connection with the 2005 countrywide bomb blasts. He was released on bail in 2013.
Toriqul was arrested again on October 5, 2014 over the killing of former PDB chairman and so-called pir Khijir Khan in the capital's Badda. On October 25 last year, he confessed before a court that he murdered Khijir.
Police blame the public prosecutors and the prosecutors blame police. The judges blame both; while hearing bail petitions, they often express annoyance at poor performance of both the investigators and the prosecutors.
Independent analysts, however, say flawed investigation, faulty legal process in filing cases and delayed judicial process are to blame for the failure to keep militants behind bars.
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