A Dhaka court on Thursday sent journalist Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury to jail in a murder case filed over the killing of madrasa student Arif during the July uprising in the capital’s Jatrabari area in 2024.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque passed the order after a hearing on a police petition seeking his detention in jail.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, former information adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and chairman of private television channel DBC News, was picked up by police from the channel’s office in Mohakhali around noon on Wednesday.
Later that night, police showed Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury arrested in the Jatrabari murder case.
Earlier, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Amir Hossain, the investigation officer of the case at Jatrabari Police Station, sought an order to keep him in jail. Police have not sought remand at this stage.
During the hearing, state prosecutor Faruk Hossain Faruqi told the court that Arif was shot in the eye during the quota reform movement and later died. His father subsequently filed a murder case in which Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury was named as the 53rd accused.
The prosecutor alleged that Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury had played a role in strengthening Hasina’s rule by controlling media coverage and preventing reports critical of the former prime minister.
He also alleged that journalists had been pressured to publish news favourable to Hasina.
Faruqi further told the court that Iqbal Sobhan had been in hiding before his arrest and sought an order to keep him in jail as a named accused in the case.
Defence lawyers said they were not seeking bail but had requested Division status for their client in prison, citing his health condition and professional standing as a senior journalist.
They told the court that two petitions had been submitted seeking proper medical treatment for him in jail. They also said Iqbal Sobhan had held a position equivalent to that of a state minister during Hasina’s tenure and requested that this be considered when deciding his prison status.
The investigation officer told the court that police were not seeking remand and had only applied to keep Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury in jail.
He was brought to the court premises in a white Detective Branch (DB) microbus at 3:10pm and kept in the lock-up. He was taken to the courtroom under tight police security at 3:50pm. The magistrate entered the courtroom at 4:01pm and began the hearing.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury is also the editor and publisher of the Daily Observer.
Police picked up Iqbal Sobhan from the DBC News office in Mohakhali around noon on Wednesday. The channel’s Chief Crime Reporter Rajib Ghosh was also taken into police custody.
Following the incident, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner (Public Relations) Aktar Hossain said an “undesirable situation” had developed at the DBC News office over the broadcast of a news report.
He said Iqbal Sobhan and Ghosh had been taken into Detective Branch custody but did not provide details about the circumstances that led to the incident.
According to the case statement, a gunfight broke out between police and leaders and activists of the Awami League on Boubazar Road in the Kutubkhali area of Jatrabari on the afternoon of 19 July 2024, during the July uprising.
Arif, a first-year Alim student at Lord Hardinge Fazil Madrasa, was shot in the eye during the incident. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
On 25 August 2024, his father, Yusuf, filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station against 233 people, including Sheikh Hasina.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury was named as accused number 53 in the case.
