Fakhrul, Abbas, 222 others denied bail

Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail petitions of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas in a case filed over the December 7 clashes between police and BNP men in the Nayapaltan area of the capital.
Besides, the court rejected bail petitions of 2,22 other BNP leaders and activists in the case.
BNP leaders Abdus Salam, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Fazlul Haque Milon and Selim Reza Habib are among the others accused.
The bail petitions were submitted by the lawyers of the accused on Monday.
Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shafiuddin of Dhaka CMM Court passed the order after defense lawyers moved separate petitions submitted for seeking bail in the case, Zaynal Abedin Mesbah, Mirza Fakhrul’s lawyer, told the media.
During yesterday’s hearing, defense lawyers told the court that Mirza Fakhrul, Mirza Abbas and others were not involved with the incident. They were implicated in the case just to harass them. So, they should be granted bail, the defense lawyers added.
The prosecution, however, opposed the bail pleas saying activists had carried out subversive activities following the directives from high-profile leaders, including Fakhrul, Abbas and several others.
Upon hearing both sides, the court rejected the defense pleas considering the depth of offences brought against them in the case. The case was filed with Paltan Model Police Station on December 8, a day after the clash broke out in front of the BNP’s Nayapaltan office. The clash left one person dead and score others injured.
Law enforcers picked up Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas from their homes around 3:00am on December 9. The same day, Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jashim sent them to the jail in the case, rejecting their bail petitions.
The two BNP leaders were shown arrested on charge of provoking party members to launch an attack on police in Nayapaltan area.