Shawkat Mahmud lands in jail

A court here on Saturday sent BNP chairperson’s adviser and journalists’ union leader Shawkat Mahmud to jail on the expiry of his three-day remand in an arson case filed with the city’s Ramna Police Station. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Waez Kuruni Khan Chowdhury passed the order when Shawkat Mahmud was produced before the court. Sub-inspector Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman, also general recording officer of the court, said no bail petition was submitted for Shawkat as he had no lawyer. Earlier on August 19, the court placed Shawkat Mahmud on a three-day remand after his arrest from in front of Samurai Convention Centre in the city’s Panthapath area on August 18. He was shown arrested in an arson case filed with Ramna Police Station. On January 9, a group of miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a private car in the city’s Moghbazar area in front of Celebration Community Centre, leaving its driver injured with burns. Later, the driver, Abul Kalam Azad, was admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injures on January 15. Sub-inspector Atiqur Rahman Biswas then filed a case with Ramna Police Station in this connection. On August 18, Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Shawkat Mahmud from in front of Samurai Convention Centre in the city’s Panthapath area. Shawkat Mahmud was arrested in three cases — arson attacks on vehicles, vandalising vehicles and crude bomb blasts in the city’s Jatrabari area — said Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Muntasirul Islam. — Dhaka, Aug 22 (UNB)