The High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail for six months to opposition chief whip Zainul Abedin Farroque in a case filed over March 11 city violence.An HC single-judge bench of Justice Dr Kazi Rezaul Haque passed the order after the Chief Justice sent the matter to him following split orders by another bench.
On April 17, the HC bench comprising Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui and Sheikh Zakir Hossain delivered dissenting orders against six opposition alliance leaders, including Farroque, in the case filed with Paltan Police Station under Explosive Substances Act.
The other leaders are BNP joint secretaries general Aman Ullah Aman, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and M Shahjahan, BNP chairperson’s adviser Dr ZM Jahid Hossain and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party president Shafiul Alam Pradhan.
The bench granted bail for six months to Jagpa chief in the case.
However, senior judge of the bench Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui granted six months’ bail to Aman, Rizvi and Farroque in the case while junior judge Justice Sheikh Zakir Hossain issued a rule upon the government to explain as to why they should not be granted bail.
The bench also adjourned hearing on the bail petition of Dr Zahid and Shajahan for 10 days upon their lawyer’s appeal.
The court granted bail to all the opposition alliance leaders in another case filed with Paltan Police Station under the Speedy Trial Act.
On March 11, police in a raid on BNP’s Nayapaltan central office arrested over 150 of its leaders and workers, including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
The law enforcers launched the drive in the BNP office after 8 to 10 crude bombs went off near the BNP central office while Fakhrul was addressing a rally.
The Jagpa chief was arrested while he was returning from the Gulshan office of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia after an 18-party alliance meeting on the night of March 11.
Three of the arrested leaders—Mirza Fakhrul, Sadek Hossain Khoka and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury—were released the following day.
Later, a charge-sheet was submitted against 148 of them in a case filed with Paltan Police Station under the Speedy Trial Act. UNB
