7 arrested so far

Seven people have so far been arrested in connection with the murder of Bishwajit Das during the December 9 roadblock in the capital.

Yesterday, three of them were arrested by Detective Branch of police while the four others held on Tuesday were shown arrested in a case filed with Sutrapur Police Station.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, however, told the press that 11 people were arrested in the case. He also insisted that there was no scope for confusion over the number of arrestees.

But police till yesterday could not confirm exactly how many had been arrested in the murder case.

A day before, the minister said eight people had been rounded up for the murder.

So, according to Muhiuddin, another four are yet to be shown arrested whereas police, as per law, must place arrestees in the court within 24 hours after they have been held.

A DB team led by Mohammad Sanwar Hossain, senior assistant police commissioner, arrested Mahfuzur Rahman Nahid at the city’s Palashi while another team led by Hassan Arafat, assistant police commissioner, arrested HM Kibria and Mohammad Kayyum Miah in front of Moghbazar Wareless gate.

Nahid is an ex-Jagannath University student, and both Kibria and Kayyum Miah are honours examinees from psychology department of the university, according to a DB press release.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman passed the order showing the four others arrested after Sub-inspector Mahbubul Alam Akond, investigation officer of the case, submitted a petition.

Mahbubul in the petition named them as Mamun-ur-Rashid, Maruf Hossain, Nahid-uz-Zaman Tuhin and Mosleh Uddin but did not give their details.

He said an investigation had revealed that the four arrestees were involved in the killing. He would file a prayer with the court soon to take them on remand but until then they should be kept in jail custody, the SI added.

Twenty-four-year-old Bishwajit was beaten and hacked to death by activists of pro-Awami League student body Chhatra League during the early hours of the blockade enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.

Following the incident, the murder case was filed, accusing some unidentified people.

ANOTHER CASE
Supreme Court lawyer Mahbubul Alam Dulal filed another case yesterday with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, accusing 10 people of Bishwajit’s murder.

Of the accused, five — Mahfuzur Rahman Nahid, Rafiqul Islam Shakil, Emdadul Haque, Obhidul Quader and Meer Md Noore Alam alias Limon — are among those identified as killers by the media.

The others are Yunus, Tahsin, Jony, Shiplu and Kibria.

Hearing the case, Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan directed the officer-in-charge of Sutrapur Police Station to merge it with the previous case and carry out an investigation.

Source: The Daily Star