A Dhaka court on Wednesday placed an Indian citizen, identified as Rabiul Islam, on a four-day remand on suspicion of involvement in subversive activities in Bangladesh and following discrepancies in the date of birth listed across his passport, National Identity Card (NID), and driving licence.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana passed the order following a hearing.
Earlier, Rabiul was produced before the court after being shown arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Detective Branch (DB) Ramna Division Sub-Inspector Binoy Kumar Roy prayed for a seven-day remand to interrogate the accused, a matter confirmed by State lawyer Harun or Rashid.
Presenting arguments in favour of the remand, the lawyer briefed the court on the prosecution’s grounds.
Following arguments from both sides, the court granted a four-day remand. Rabiul was not represented by any defence lawyer during the remand hearing.
According to the remand petition, Rabiul is the son of Shahidul Islam, hailing from Gouri Bhoj village under Matia Police Station of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, India.
Acting on secret information, he was detained from the ground floor of House No. 60, Road No. 13, Sector 11 under Uttara West Police Station.
The petition noted that Rabiul entered Bangladesh from India on 14 September. He was subsequently placed under intelligence surveillance due to his suspicious movements, which led to his detention.
During preliminary interrogation, Rabiul claimed Indian citizenship and produced his passport; however, a subsequent examination of his Indian passport, driving licence, and NID revealed conflicting dates of birth recorded across the documents.
Responding to questions from journalists while being taken to court, he maintained his innocence, saying, “I know nothing. I come to Bangladesh frequently. I have many friends here. They (the police) found nothing from me of what they are saying”.
Asked about allegations regarding involvement with a foreign intelligence agent, Rabiul denied the claim.
Explaining his reason for visiting Bangladesh, he said, “I run a garment business with my friend Kawsar. That is why I often come to Bangladesh.”
Regarding the mismatched details across his official documents, Rabiul claimed, “These were made a long time ago. So, it is normal to have a slight mismatch between the NID and passport.”
