Fakhrul, 52 others charged in 2 cases

Police have pressed charges against BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 52 other political leaders and activities in two cases filed in connection with vandalising and torching vehicles in January last year.

Paltan police yesterday pressed two separate charge sheets before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka and the investigators appealed to the court to issue arrest warrants against the "fugitives".

This is the first charge sheet against Fakhrul in cases filed in connection with last year's violence in the capital.

At least 95 people were killed and hundreds were injured, mostly in mindless arson attacks on public transports in the first three months of 2015 when BNP-led 20-party alliances enforced an indefinite blockade.

Around 400 cases had been filed against 20-party alliance leaders and activists for last year's violence in Dhaka, Joynal Abedin Mesbah, a lawyer of the BNP leaders told The Daily Star.

He said seven cases were filed in Dhaka against Fakhrul in this connection while 50 cases against alliance leader Rafiqul Islam Mia, 60 against Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, 50 against Amanullah Aman, and 48 cases against Barkatullah Bulu.

In the first of the two cases in which charges were pressed, Sub-Inspector Abdul Jalil of Paltan Police Station, also the investigation officer of the case, pressed charges against Fakhrul and 39 other party men for damaging and torching a vehicle in front of Azad Products Ltd on January 4 last year.  

Of the accused, Fakhrul and 19 others are now on bail while BNP leaders -- Rafiqul Islam Mia, Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Barkatullah Bulu and 17 others -- were shown as absconding.

In the second of the cases, SI Vivekananda Debnath of the same police station pressed charges against Fakhrul and 52 others for setting fire to a motorbike of a policeman in front of Hotel Bakshi in Fakirerpool on January 5 last year.

Forty people were accused in both the cases. The charge sheets would be placed before the court on March 2 for the next course of action, court sources said.