Court rejects Mirza Fakhkrul, Mirza Abba’s bail

Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail petitions of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party’s Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas for the third time in a case filed in connection with the December 7 clash between police and party men in Nayapaltan area.
Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain passed the order after their lawyers moved the petitions on the grounds that the names of the two complainants did not include in the First Information Report (FIR) of the case.
Mirza Fakhrul and Abbas were arrested on December 9 on the charges of inciting attacks on police and detonations of improvised explosives in Naya Paltan area.
The clashes broke out when a gathering of BNP loyalists outside the party’s central office ahead of its anti-governmental rally on December 10 turned violent.
Police used teargas shells and batons to disperse the crowds allegedly as several rounds of crude bomb explosions rang out in the area. A BNP activist died, while police claimed that more than 50 law enforces were injured in the incident.
Police later started three cases against up to 2,000 people over the incident. They also cordoned off the BNP office, declaring it a ‘crime zone’ after allegedly finding improvised explosives on the premises.