Suspended Sylhet mayor denied bail in Kibria murder case

Ariful Haque Chowdhury

A Habiganj court today rejected the bail petition of suspended Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury in connection with former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Mahbub Ul Islam rejected the bail petition, which was placed by a four-member defence panel led by advocate Ashraful Bari Noman around 11:30am.

The LGRD ministry through an order on January 7 suspended the mayor for his alleged link with the murder case. He is now undergoing treatment at the prison cell at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.

On December 30 last year, the court sent Ariful to jail after he surrendered before it in connection with the murder case.

Ariful surrendered as another Habiganj court issued arrest warrants for 11 people, including Ariful, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, and Habiganj Mayor Golam Kibria, in the case.

All of them were shown absconding in the third supplementary charge sheet submitted to the court by CID Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Meherunnesa Parul on November 13.

Kibria was assassinated in a grenade attack while addressing a rally in Habiganj on January 27, 2005. The blast also killed Kibria's nephew Shah Manzur Huda, local AL leader Abdur Rahim and two others.