A Dhaka court on Wednesday placed two members of a martial arts group named “Fatah Combat System” on a fresh three-day remand each in connection with their suspected involvement in extremist activities.
The court also ordered four other suspects to be sent to jail following the conclusion of their initial three-day remand.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order after Investigating Officer (IO) AB Siddiq of Jatrabari Police Station, produced six suspects in court and sought a seven-day fresh remand for two of them.
The court further directed the IO to submit investigation report by 12 July. The two suspects placed on fresh remand are Shah Amanat Sabir and Hossain Tanim. Those sent to prison are Junaid, Ataullah Shah, Abidur Rahman, and Bayezid.
Earlier on Sunday, the suspects were arrested during a police raid at a sand field near the Amin Mohammad Group area, adjacent to ‘Mini Cox’s Bazar’ in Jatrabari.
Acting on a tip-off that individuals were gathering for training to conduct extremist activities, police arrived at the scene around 6:30am. The suspects reportedly attempted to flee but were apprehended. During primary interrogation, they failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their gathering.
The suspects were initially arrested under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and were placed on a three-day remand last Sunday.
During Wednesday’s hearing, defence lawyer Md Saddam Hossain applied for bail and prayed for the remand to be cancelled, arguing that the suspects are young students and that the police had found nothing during the first three days of interrogation.
The court rejected the bail plea, saying the police approach in the case appeared “good” and the suspects had not yet been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Magistrate said the remand was granted solely for the interest of a fair investigation and that the suspects would be acquitted if no evidence was found against them.
Before passing the order, the judge asked the suspects if they had been subjected to any physical abuse while in police custody. In response, suspect Shah Amanat Sabir shook his head to indicate they had not been beaten.
