Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court has placed five prominent political figures, including former ministers and advisers, on remand in connection with a series of murder and attempted murder cases linked to political violence.
On Monday, Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbub Alam granted a two-day remand for former Law Minister Anisul Huq, former Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, and Salman F Rahman, former adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The three are accused in the murder of Sajedur Rahman Omar, who was fatally shot during an anti-discrimination protest held at the Kajla footbridge in Jatrabari on July 21 last year.
Omar succumbed to his injuries on August 24, 2024, after over a month of medical treatment. The case, filed on January 3, 2025, names 81 individuals, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The remand was granted following a petition filed by Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Sub-Inspector Amirul Islam Mir to aid the ongoing investigation.
In a separate ruling, the court approved a one-day remand for former Dhaka-5 MP Kazi Monirul Islam Monu in a case concerning the murder of Riton Uddin, also in the Jatrabari area.
However, a remand plea involving Monu in another murder case—related to the killing of a man named Rasel—was rejected by the court.
In a third case, retired Rear Admiral Sohail, former chairman of Chattogram Port, has been placed on a three-day remand over the attempted murder of Badrul Islam Saymon, an activist of Gono Odhikar Parishad. Saymon sustained severe injuries in an alleged attack during the BNP-led mass rally at Dhaka’s Paltan area on October 28, 2023.
The case names 245 accused, including senior government and party figures.
Meanwhile, former MP AKM Sarwar Jahan Badsha has been officially shown arrested in a separate murder case in Mohammadpur.
Additionally, former State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Tajul Islam has been shown arrested in connection with the killing of Ramzan Mia Jibon in Paltan.
These remands and arrests come amid a broader wave of legal actions tied to violence during political demonstrations and rallies over the past two years.
The cases, which involve high-profile political figures, have sparked renewed debate about political accountability and the impartiality of the judicial process in Bangladesh. Investigations are ongoing.
