BNP leader Arif's bail prayer rejected

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected a bail petition of BNP leader and Dhaka City Corporation ward councillor Ariful Islam in the CPB rally blast case.
Judge ANM Bashir Ullah of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order rejecting the bail petition filed by the defence lawyers on September 30.
During the hearing, the defence lawyers told the court that their client was implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass him. Moreover, his (Arif) name was not in the first information report (FIR). So, they prayed for granting bail to their client, the lawyers said.
On the contrary, the prosecution opposed the bail saying that the investigation officer (IO) gathered important information from the arrestee about the blasts.
Earlier on September 15, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Arif from his Malibagh residence for his alleged involvement in the CPB rally blasts.
Later, he was taken on a six-day remand in three phases for interrogation.
On January 21 in 2001, the heinous bomb attacks were launched at a Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) rally that killed five people and injured 50 others.
Following the bomb attack, CPB President Manjurul Ahsan Khan filed a case with Motijheel Police Station, saying a group of anti-state conspirators made the attack.
The police arrested 12 people at that time, but the CID submitted the final report on December 17, 2003, as correct, impartial and reliable evidences were not found to prove the charges against the arrestees.
The IO submitted a petition with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court for reinvestigation into the case on January 27, 2005 and the court directed him for fresh probe into the case after two days.
Earlier, CID arrested Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami's (Huji) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan and several other Huji members for their involvement in the bomb blasts. Moreover, two members of Lasker-e-Taiba of India were also shown arrested in the case and they were taken on remand for interrogation.