A Dhaka court on Monday granted a two-day remand for former officer-in-charge (OC) of Cantonment Police Station, Md Rakibul Hasan, in a sedition case filed against him.
Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Israt Jahan passed the order after police produced Rakibul in court and prayed for a three-day remand for interrogation.
During the hearing, the investigating officer informed the court that a recorded voice conversation involving Rakibul had been recovered and that a three-day remand was required to identify and arrest the individual he was speaking with.
Opposing the remand petition, defence lawyer Morshed Hossain Shahin submitted that his client had already been placed on a five-day remand in the same case without any details being provided regarding the information gathered during that period.
He argued that no valid grounds had been presented for a fresh remand, describing the prayer as an attempt to harass the accused, and requested the court to cancel the remand and grant bail.
The lawyer contended that the sedition charge was unsustainable, adding that while a statement on Facebook might attract charges under cyber law, sedition requires actions such as waging war against the state or inflicting harm upon it.
Rakibul was arrested on Thursday night from the capital’s Rajarbagh area. Upon being produced before the Dhaka CMM Court, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam granted a five-day remand after police sought a seven-day remand for questioning.
The arrest stems from an audio clip of a conversation involving Rakibul that went viral on social media on the night of 16 September.
According to police sources, Rakibul was allegedly heard in the recording discussing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s return to the country, police capabilities, and the political stances of senior police officers.
The audio also contained allegations of financial transactions and various irregularities concerning police postings.
Following the leak of the audio clip, Rakibul was withdrawn from Cantonment Police Station the next day citing “administrative reasons” and attached to the DMP Headquarters and Administration Division at Rajarbagh.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) simultaneously formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the matter.
Although police officials initially said Rakibul had been taken to the Detective Branch (DB) office on Minto Road that night, DB Chief Shafiqul Islam denied the claim on 18 September.
Rakibul’s whereabouts remained unclear thereafter until police eventually announced the filing of a sedition case against him at Cantonment Police Station and his subsequent arrest.
