Staff Reporter :
During the anti-discrimination student movement, eleven individuals, including former Law Minister Anisul Huq and former State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, have been shown as arrested in separate cases filed across various police stations in Dhaka.
The other arrestees are former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, NASA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumdar, former Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon, former Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Desh TV’s Managing Editor Arif Hasan, journalist Farzana Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Assistant Police Commissioner Iftekhar Mahmud, and Abdul Malek, former education affairs secretary of the Pallabi Thana Awami League’s Ward 15.
On Monday morning, the police presented them in Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court after bringing them from jail. The investigation officers of the respective police stations then applied to show them arrested in separate cases. Public prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruki supported the applications, while defense lawyers opposed them. After hearing arguments from both sides, Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman granted the petitions to show their arrests in these cases. Following this, they were sent back to jail.
The cases include three from Jatrabari Police Station and one from Sutrapur Police Station against former Law Minister Anisul Huq, one from Jatrabari Police Station against former State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, three from Jatrabari Police Station against former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, one from Jatrabari Police Station against NASA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumdar, one from Mirpur Model Police Station against former Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon, one from Mirpur Police Station against former Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, one from Kotwali Police Station against Desh TV’s Managing Editor Arif Hasan, one from Mirpur Police Station against journalist Farzana Rupa, one from Mirpur Police Station against Shakil Ahmed, one from Kafrul Police Station against Assistant Police Commissioner Iftekhar Mahmud, and one from Hatirjheel Police Station against Abdul Malek.
Anisul Huq was arrested on August 13 from Sadarghat while allegedly attempting to flee by waterway, based on confidential information. On August 14, Zunaid Ahmed Palak was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) police from Nikunja Residential Area in Khilkhet. On August 26, DB police arrested Inu from a house in Uttara. Rashed Khan Menon was detained in Gulshan on August 22, and Nazrul Islam was arrested from Gulshan on October 1.
On September 3, DB police arrested Mamun. On August 21, Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa were detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. On November 16, immigration police intercepted Arif Hasan while he was attempting to leave the country. Later, Airport Police Station officers arrested him.
After their arrests, they were placed on remand in multiple cases, and further arrests were shown in connection with other cases.
