12 including Palak, Shirin hid in parliament on August 5

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the former state minister for ICT, along with former speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and 10 others, sought refuge in a room at the parliament building from the morning of August 5 until around 2:30 AM the following day, as reported by Palak during a hearing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Wednesday. The group was rescued by the army and taken to safety.

During the hearing, Palak also denied the charges against him, claiming they were false. He requested the court to allow him to be interrogated at the jail gate instead of in court.

Following the hearing, the court granted the police two days to question Palak in connection with a murder case filed at Vatara police station.

Palak was arrested on August 15 last year, shortly after the fall of the Awami League regime. He has since been taken on remand and questioned in relation to several murder and attempted murder cases.