The High Court has deferred the remand order against AKM Fakhrul Islam, lawyer of War crimes convict Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in a case under the Information Technology Act.A bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam passed the order on a petition filed by Fakhrul’s lawyer, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan, on Monday.
The bench also ordered police to send him to jail immediately, saying the investigating officer could grill him at the jail gate, if needed.
Fakhrul has been arrested in connection with an alleged leak of the war crimes tribunal verdict sentencing Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death.
Police supect Fakhrul of having engineered the leak.
The court also wanted to know why the lower court’s remand order should not be repealed, Mahbub Uddin Khokon told bdnews24.com.
The Deputy Commissioner at Dhaka district and Detective Branch’s Ramna Zone Inspector Md Habil Hossain were made respondents to the ruling.
Supreme Court Bar Association’s President AJ Mohammad Ali and Barrister Khokon argued for Fakhrul while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
Earlier, the High Court had stalled remand of five BNP leaders including three Standing Committee members – Moudud Ahmed, Rafiqul Islam Mia and MK Anwar.
The court, however, said they could be questioned at the jail gate if needed.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Emdadul Haque had sent Barrister Fakhrul to a 4-day police custody for interrogation on Sunday.
He was arrested on Nov 20 in connection with an alleged leak of the war crimes tribunal’s verdict involving the BNP leader.
On Oct 1, the first war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh sentenced the BNP MP Salauddin Quader to death for atrocities committed during the 1971 liberation war.
However, the convict’s family claimed the verdict had been ‘leaked’ before it was delivered in the court. They had produced a copy of the verdict published on a website.
The tribunal had filed a General Diary over the reported leak.
After a probe, a case was filed accusing three persons under the Information Technology Act.
Police seized two computers and a number of documents from Fakhrul Islam’s Kakrail office in Oct.
The tribunal’s employee Nayan Ali and typist Faruk Hossain were arrested and remanded in this connection.
Nayan issued a confessional statement before the court in which Faruk’s involvement in the alleged leak had come to light, according to police.
Detective police say one of Fakhrul’s associates had lured Nayan to take a copy of the verdict’s draft from the tribunal’s computer. Tribunal employee Faruk had helped him.
Nayan is also now behind bars while Mehedi, an associate of Fakhrul, is on the run. – bdnews24.com
