A Dhaka court on Thursday placed retired Army officer Major General Golam Moinuddin Chowdhury on three-day remand in a case filed over an attack, vandalism and looting at New Gini Properties in South Manikdi near ECB Chattar.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Monirul Islam passed the order after hearing a remand petition filed by the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
DB Inspector Jehad Hossain, also the investigation officer in the case, produced Golam Moinuddin before the court and sought five-day remand for questioning.
Prosecution lawyer Anisur Rahman Babul supported the remand plea.
Defence lawyers Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan, president of the Dhaka Bar Association, and Abul Kalam Khan opposed the remand and sought bail for the accused.
After hearing both sides, the court granted three-day remand.
During the hearing, Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan alleged that New Gini Properties was involved in land grabbing and had occupied access roads.
Calling the case “planned”, he said Golam Moinuddin had been named as the fourth accused and was alleged to have taken Tk7,000 from the pocket of a man named Parvez.
“He is a retired major general and a doctor. The allegation that he took Tk7,000 is false,” the lawyer told the court, seeking cancellation of the remand and bail for his client.
Defence lawyer Abul Kalam Khan said Golam Moinuddin was not present at the scene of the incident.
He said his client had served as the general secretary of Chhatra Dal at Mirpur Government Dental College and currently works at Evercare Hospital.
The defence lawyers then sought cancellation of the remand and bail.
Earlier, in the same case, a court placed three people, including Mizanur Rahman, son-in-law of Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Abdul Gafur, on three-day remand.
On Wednesday, three other accused-Mamun, Md Aslam and Md Munna-were also placed on three-day remand.
According to DB police, Golam Moinuddin was arrested from a house in Segunbagicha under Ramna Police Station at around 2:45pm on Wednesday.
According to the case statement, an attack, vandalism and looting took place at New Gini Properties in South Manikdi near ECB Chattar on Saturday night.
The ‘Brownfish’ studio of content creator Salman Muqtadir, located inside the housing project, was also attacked and vandalised.
Saiful Islam Bhuiyan, a director of New Gini Properties, filed the case with Cantonment Police Station.
The case names 13 people, including retired Major General Golam Moinuddin Chowdhury, and accuses another 150 to 200 unidentified people.
Police said their preliminary investigation has found a dispute over land possession as a possible background to the incident.
However, the exact cause of the attack will be established after completion of the investigation, police said.
