77 BNP leaders including Mirza Fakhrul acquitted in arson case

A Dhaka court on Monday (September 15) acquitted BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Mirza Abbas, along with 77 others, in a case filed over an arson attack on vehicles in Shahbagh.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sabbir Faiz accepted the final police report and granted them relief from the charges.

Other notable accused in the case included BNP Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin, Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Joint Secretary General Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Saiful Alam Nirob, and Sultan Salahuddin Tuku.

Confirming the matter, Fakhrul’s lawyer Syed Zainul Abedin Mezbah said the cases had been filed to harass the opposition politically. Police investigations found no evidence and recommended dropping the charges, which the court accepted.

According to the case documents, on December 11, 2019—one day before the High Court hearing on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s bail petition in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case—miscreants set fire to motorcycles and other vehicles near the under-construction Bar Council gate in Shahbagh. The case was filed by Shahbagh Police SI Shamsur Rahman, alleging the arson was intended to pressure the judiciary and influence the bail hearing.

Following investigation, on May 10 this year, the investigating officer submitted the final report recommending exemption of Fakhrul, senior BNP leaders, and 77 others from the case.