Police have filed a case against 40 named individuals, including a journalist, and 20 to 30 unidentified persons over the burning of a bus in Savar, Dhaka.
Sub-Inspector Md Abbas Uddin of Savar Model Police Station lodged the case on Monday night, alleging that the suspects set fire to a Savar Paribahan bus in the Radio Colony area on the Dhaka-Aricha highway.
Md Kamruzzaman, a senior reporter at TIMES of Bangladesh, is listed as the 18th accused. Kamruzzaman is a former president and general secretary of the Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) and a permanent member of the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
When queried, complainant SI Abbas told TIMES of Bangladesh, “If someone is uninvolved, their name will be dropped from the charge sheet.”
The bus owner, Habibur Rahman Hridoy, is listed as the second accused. Meanwhile, local leaders and activists of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal are listed as witnesses, though the First Information Report (FIR) omits their political affiliations.
In the FIR, SI Abbas said that the bus was set ablaze around 2:45am on 21 September. He claimed that upon arriving, he observed 60 to 70 individuals setting the vehicle alight, most of whom fled on motorcycles and microbuses when police approached.
Fire Service units were called to extinguish the blaze, and police subsequently identified the accused with the assistance of local residents.
Three individuals were named as witnesses in the FIR, with one listed as Akash.
A contact number provided for Akash was answered by an individual named Jhalok, who identified himself as a Swechchhasebak Dal activist and Akash as a local Chhatra Dal affiliate. Jhalok said that Akash and a second witness, Manik, had alerted police, adding that he was not present at the scene himself.
Repeated calls to Manik’s listed number went unanswered. A Savar Fire Service duty officer confirmed the incident, though the team leader involved is currently on leave.
The FIR stated that the primary accused, Sohel Rana, was arrested and confessed to setting the fire, naming other accomplices. It alleged that the perpetrators acted under the instruction and patronage of bus owner Hridoy and accused numbers 11 through 20. However, the document details no specific evidence explaining Kamruzzaman’s alleged involvement.
Kamruzzaman said that while his family home is in Savar, he has not resided there for three years. “I have not travelled past Gabtoli towards Savar since the last Eid-ul-Adha,” he added.
When contacted, Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Alam told TIMES: “I will immediately instruct the investigating officer to review the matter and remove Kamruzzaman’s name from the list of accused.” He added that senior authorities had been briefed.
Dhaka District Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime, Operations and Traffic North) Md Jahangir Alam said, “I am unaware of this specific matter, but it will be thoroughly verified and reviewed.”
