A Dhaka court on Wednesday granted a fresh three-day remand for Jerika Tasnim Disha, 19, an accused and friend of former Air Force official KM Tahsif Sauri, 27, in connection with his murder case.
The court of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Manjurul Islam passed the order following a seven-day remand petition.
Public Prosecutor Muhammad Shamsuddoha Suman confirmed the court order.
Earlier in the day, case investigation officer and Tongi Naval Police Outpost Inspector Firoz Uddin produced Disha before the court and sought a seven-day remand.
Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain’s court had placed Disha on a four-day remand.
She was produced back in court on Wednesday following interrogation during that initial period.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Hasan Shahadat granted a second-phase three-day remand for Sauri’s friend, Ahmed Shahriar Reza Dwip, 23.
The investigation officer outlined seven reasons in the remand petition for seeking further custody.
These include determining whether any altercation occurred between Tahsif and Disha on the day of the incident, investigating prior tensions in their relationship, assessing the potential involvement of other individuals, and verifying conflicting statements made by the two accused.
State Prosecutor Faruq Hossain Faruqui submitted in court that Disha was seen with the victim at two restaurants on the day of the incident, and both Disha and Dwip were subsequently apprehended.
He noted that Disha and Dwip provided contradictory statements during initial questioning.
The prosecutor highlighted that the victim had courageously recorded video footage of fleeing fascist Sheikh Hasina, adding that without his video, her escape might not have come to light.
He maintained that a seven-day remand was essential to uncover complete information regarding all parties involved in the murder.
In contrast, defence lawyer Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan sought the cancellation of the remand, adding that his client is a student who had already undergone four days of interrogation.
He informed the court that Disha suffers from migraines and submitted that Tahsif had dropped her home at 12am midnight. He added that Disha did not know where Tahsif went afterwards and pointed out that she was not visible on any CCTV footage past midnight.
In the remand petition, police noted that Disha admitted during questioning to travelling and spending time with Tahsif prior to the occurrence.
On the day of the incident, they ate multiple times at CP Five Star Snacks in Uttara Sector 18 and visited Nest Bar and Restaurant at night.
Disha also disclosed visiting Nest Bar and Restaurant and a motorcycle garage on the night of 27 October, admitting to riding around various locations on Tahsif’s motorcycle.
The investigation officer added that the motive behind the murder has not yet been established and that it remains unverified whether any dispute arose between them at those locations.
Police added that while Disha provided some key information, she evaded direct answers to certain questions.
Analysis of Tahsif’s mobile phone call logs confirmed multiple communications between him and Disha.
Police emphasised that further custody is necessary to cross-check discrepancies between Disha and Dwip’s statements, uncover the core mystery of the murder, identify and arrest unknown co-accused, and recover relevant evidence.
