Mirza Fakhrul, Abbas get bail from HC

Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday granted bail for six months to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas in a case filed in connection with the December 7 clashes between police and BNP men in the capital’s Nayapaltan area, after fourth time rejection by the lower court.
The HC bench of Justice Md Salim and Justice Md Riaz Uddin Khan passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Fakhrul and Abbas seeking bail in the case.
It also issued a rule upon the concerned bodies of the government to explain as to why the BNP leaders should not be granted permanent bail in the case.
Lawyers Zainul Abedin, A J Mohammad Ali, Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Kayser Kamal, Ruhul Quddus Kazal and others appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the BNP leaders, while Additional Attorney General S M Munir represented the state.
Earlier on Monday, their lawyers submitted the bail petition to the HC seeking their bail in the case.
In the petition, the lawyers said that the lower courts concerned have not granted bail to Fakhrul and Abbas though their names were not mentioned in the first information report (FIR) of the case. But other FIR named accused have been granted bail, they added.
Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas have earlier been denied bail four times by the lower courts concerned in the same case.
The case was filed with Paltan Model Police Station on December 8, a day after the clash broke out in front of the party’s Naya Paltan office.
On December 7, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Naya Paltan central office ahead of its December 10 rally.
Police later started three cases against up to 2,000 people over the incident. They also cordoned off the party office.
Law enforcers picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes around 3:00am on December 9. They were shown arrested on charge of provoking party members to launch an attack on police in the Naya Paltan area.