224 BNP leaders including Fakhrul, Mirza Abbas denied bail

A Dhaka court on Monday rejected the bail petition of 224 leaders and activists of BNP, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas, in a case over the clash between police and the party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shafiuddin passed the order when their counsel sought bail for them.

Earlier, on Sunday a court set Monday for hearing of the bail petitions of the BNP leaders and activists in the case.

The other BNP leaders include Dhaka south city unit convener Abdus Salam, Publication Secretary Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, joint secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon, former organizing secretary Fazlul Haque Milon and Selim Reza Habib.

On Friday, a Dhaka court sent Mirza Fakhrul and Abbas to jail rejecting their bail petitions in the case.

In the early hours of Friday, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital city.

Later they were shown arrested in a case filed under the Explosive Substances Act with Paltan police station over Wednesday’s clash.

They were accused of instigating, planning and directing an attack on police, crude bomb explosion, destroying public property and lives, he added.

On Wednesday, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office, ahead of its December 10 rally.

On Thursday, a Dhaka court sent 445 BNP leaders and activists including Annie and Salam to jail in two cases filed over Wednesday’s violence.