25 BNP men jailed for 3 years on charges of violence

Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced 25 leaders and activists of BNP and its front organizations to three years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a 2018 case filed with Bangshal Police Station in the capital over political violence.

Md Taizuddin alias “Lomba Taizu”, President of the city’s BNP ward 68 unit, and Razia Alam alias Razia Sultana, President of Mohila Dal Dhaka South City, were among the convicts.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Sheikh Sadi of Dhaka CMM Court pronounced the sentence in absence of the convicts in the courtroom.

Before pronouncement of judgment, the court rejected their bails and declared them fugitives in the case.

The court also issued conviction warrants against them and directed the Officer-in-Charge of Bangshal Police Station to execute the court order.

The punishment of the convicts will be effective from the day of their arrest or surrender to the court, said the court in the verdict.

Earlier, the prosecution and the defense completed submissions of their arguments and the court recorded statements of three prosecution witnesses, including complainant of the case.

According to the case statement, it was alleged that a group of leaders and activists of BNP and its front organizations led by Taizuddin gathered in front of Ahmed Bawani School in the city’s Banghal area around 4:45pm on September 6 of 2018, ahead of a rally demanding release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. They vandalized vehicles, ransacked shops and created anarchy among the local people.

Following the incident, police filed a case against Taizuddin, Razia and 23 others with Bangshal Police Station.

After an investigation, police submitted the charge sheet of the case against them on June 30, 2019. The court framed charges against them on February 27 of 2022.