A Dhaka court on Sunday rejected a police plea to show former army major Md Sadikul Haque Sadik arrested in a case over the setting fire to a private car, despite police claiming he had orchestrated the arson before his imprisonment.
The order indicates that there is no legal bar to Sadik’s release if he is not wanted in any other case, his lawyer said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order.
Police had sought to show Sadik arrested in the Anti-Terrorism Act case over an arson attack on a private car in Dhaka’s Bashundhara area on 11 November, 2025.
The plea came under scrutiny because Sadik was already in jail when the car was set on fire.
To explain how he could allegedly be involved while in custody, Bhatara Police Station OC Mazharul Islam and investigation officer SI Md Chand Ali submitted a written explanation to the court.
Police claimed that the arson was carried out based on training, instructions and financial support allegedly provided by Sadik before his imprisonment.
They also claimed he had organised secret meetings and training sessions at several locations and trained participants.
The court, however, rejected the police plea to show Sadik arrested in the case.
Sadik’s lawyer HM Al-Amin said his client had already secured bail from the High Court in another Anti-Terrorism Act case filed with Bhatara Police Station.
“As the court has rejected the plea in the car arson case and he is not shown arrested in any other case, there is no legal bar to his release,” he said.
How the case began
According to case documents, a private car was set on fire in front of the Bitumen Gate area under Bhatara Police Station on the night of 11 November, 2025.
The car owner, Monir Hossain, later filed a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The case did not name any specific individual and accused 20 to 25 unidentified people.
Police later sought to show Sadik arrested in the case, claiming their investigation had found evidence of his involvement.
Sadik was sentenced to three months in prison by a military court on 29 October, 2024. He was later shown arrested in another Anti-Terrorism Act case filed with Bhatara Police Station and sent to jail on 29 December, 2025.
He has remained in custody since then.
Police filed the plea to show him arrested in the car arson case on 7 August.
During the hearing, Sadik’s lawyer questioned how his client could have been directly involved in the arson if he was already in jail when the incident took place.
The court subsequently directed police to explain the matter in writing. The Bhatara police chief and the investigation officer submitted their explanation, but the court ultimately rejected the plea.
