Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court ordered today the imprisonment of Salman F Rahman, former adviser to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and former Law Minister Anisul Huq after the end of their respective remand periods in connection with cases linked to the July-August mass uprising.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana sent Salman F Rahman to jail after the investigating officer (IO), Detective Branch Sub-Inspector Zahidul Islam, produced him before the court and sought his continued detention. The IO told the court that Rahman’s remand had yielded vital information which investigators will now scrutinise to ensure a proper probe and fair trial in the murder case.
Rahman stands accused in the killing of Al-Amin during the mass uprising that rocked the country last year. He was arrested by police from the capital’s Sadarghat area on August 13, 2024, while allegedly attempting to flee Dhaka by river along with Anisul Huq.
Meanwhile, former Law Minister Anisul Huq was also sent to jail today after the completion of his two-day remand in a separate case filed under the Arms Act with Banani Police Station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Hasibuzzaman passed the order after police produced Huq before the court and pleaded that he be kept in jail until the end of the investigation.
Court documents show that on July 7 last year, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minahajul Islam granted police a two-day remand for Anisul Huq.
According to the case statement, the government had suspended all arms licences issued between January 6, 2009, and August 5, 2024, through a circular on August 25, 2024.
The circular required license holders to deposit their firearms and ammunition with the nearest police station by September 3, 2024. Any weapons not surrendered within that period would be treated as illegal, and criminal cases would be filed accordingly.
Police lodged the case against Huq on May 24 this year, claiming that he failed to comply with the arms surrender order. No licensed weapon was found at the address listed under his name, according to police records.
Huq was arrested along with Salman F Rahman on August 13, 2024, while allegedly attempting to escape the capital via the river. Since then, the former law minister has been shown arrested and remanded multiple times in various cases tied to alleged crimes committed during the July-August mass uprising.
Both high-profile detentions have sent shockwaves through Bangladesh’s political landscape, as investigators continue probing a series of offences linked to the turbulent period that preceded the previous government’s fall.
