24 arrested Awami League leaders, activists remanded over Gulshan procession

A court has granted a 10-day remand for 24 leaders and activists of the banned Awami League arrested in an anti-terrorism case over an anti-government procession in the capital's Gulshan.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque passed the order after a hearing on Saturday, September 12. The accused are: Md Rahim, Md Jahangir Hossain, Md Alamgir Hossain, Sabbir Hossain, Kamrul Hasan, Md Munna Mia, Samin Yasar (Safayat), Md Russell, HM Zakaria Rahman, Minhazul Islam Fahad, Sohel Ahmed, Md Sohrab, Md Hazrat Ali, Md Akterul Islam Masud, Chan Mia, Md Habib Sikder, Md Zahir Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Kabir Bhandari, Babul Gop, Md Farid Ahmed, Indranil Deb Sharma, Md Nazrul Islam and Masud Hasan Shamim.

A total of 25 arrested accused were produced before the court. The investigating officer of the case and Sub-Inspector (SI) Ruhul Amin of Gulshan Police Station then applied for a 10-day remand for them, citing five grounds.

During the hearing, he said a proper investigation is needed to uncover the main mystery of the case. He said remand is needed to identify and arrest the masterminds of the incident and to obtain information about the conspirators and financiers. Additionally, remand is needed to gather information about the whereabouts of other involved accused and to arrest fugitives.

At the time, lawyers for the accused applied for cancellation of the remand and bail, while the state opposed the bail. After hearing both sides, the court granted a 10-day remand for 24 accused. However, as one person named Arafat was claimed to be a child, the court fixed Sunday for the submission of documents and further hearing. The court also ordered him to be sent to jail.

According to the case description, around 11:45am on Friday in the area under Gulshan Police Station in the capital, leaders of various affiliated organisations of the banned Awami League and leaders and activists of the banned student organisation Chhatra League gathered with the aim of tarnishing the image of the elected government, implementing an anti-government agenda and cornering the government. They organised a gathering with the aim of shouting anti-government and anti-state slogans and creating chaos.

At that time, they detonated cocktails at the scene and surrounding areas, creating panic among the public. The unidentified accused, as members of the banned organisation, detonated cocktails in support of the banned entity with the aim of tarnishing the government's image, causing damage to state property and public life and property, shouting anti-government and anti-state slogans and creating chaos. When police moved to disperse them, they threw cocktails at the police to create panic.

Later, when police fired two rounds of rubber bullets to control the situation, they scattered and fled. Five cocktails were seized at the time. In this incident, Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Mahbub Hossain of Gulshan Police Station filed a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act as plaintiff. The case named 118 people and included 80 to 100 unidentified individuals as accused.