The High Court has issued a rule seeking an explanation from the government within a week as to why bail should not be granted to Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the Secretary-General of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in the vandalism case at the Chief Justice's residence.
The High Court bench of Justice Md. Salim and Justice Shahed Nuruddin issued this rule at the end of the hearing on Mirza Fakhrul's bail application on Thursday (7 November).
The hearing commenced at about 11 in the morning. Senior lawyer advocate Joynul Abedin appeared for the bail application in court. He said that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was not present during the incident. He was not arrested that day. He did not order the attack. He is sick, he needs treatment. Mr Shah Jahan has been granted bail in this case. Zainul Abedin then presented some references in favor of bail in the court.
Opposing bail, the state's deputy attorney general said the accused is the general secretary of a party, on whose call people come from all over the country. Make attacks. Later the court ruled rather than granting the bail.
The court said we are giving the rule. Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court Fazlur Rahman Khan, Subrata Chowdhury, former secretary of the Supreme Court bar barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, and Badruddoza Badal were present at this time.
Earlier, on Monday (December 4), the High Court bench fixed the day for the hearing.
On October 28, BNP leaders and activists clashed with the police in front of the BNP central office on the day of the grand rally in Nayapaltan. Two people including a policeman were killed. Many people including over fifty policemen were injured. The Chief Justice's residence was also attacked during the clashes.
In that incident, the police filed a case at Ramna police station. Apart from Mirza Fakhrul, 59 leaders and activists including Mirza Abbas, a member of the party's standing committee, were accused in the case.
Apart from Fakhrul-Abbas, the other accused in the case are BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Vice Chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu, Abdul Awal Mintu, Ahmed Khan, Zainul Abedin, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain. Chowdhury, Barrister Shahjahan Omar, Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP convener Abdus Salam, VP Zainal, Metropolitan North BNP acting convener Farhad Halim Donor and Member Secretary Aminul Haque.
DB police arrested Mirza Fakhrul from his home in Gulshan on October 29, the day after the clash. On that night, he was arrested in the case of an attack on the residence of the Chief Justice and brought to the CMM court in Dhaka from the DB office. After that, DB Police Inspector Humayan Kabir Khan, the investigating officer of the case, requested to be kept in jail until the investigation of the case is over.
Pro-BNP lawyers sought his bail. On the other hand, the bail was opposed by the state. After the hearing of both parties, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shafi Uddin refused his bail and ordered to send him to jail. Fakhrul's bail application was made once again later. But it was rejected as well.