A Dhaka court on Wednesday placed two more accused on a seven-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act over cocktail explosions and sabotage in the capital’s Gulshan area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbub Alam granted the remand order. State prosecution lawyer Harun-or-Rashid confirmed the court’s decision.
The remanded individuals are Rasel Mahmud, 41, general secretary of the Mahishasura Union unit of the activity-suspended Awami League in Madhabdi Upazila under Narsingdi district, and Md Rafique, 40, whom police identified as an Awami League activist in the remand application.
Detectives from the Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested both suspects on Tuesday from the Bhatara Police Station area.
Earlier, the investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Md Ruhul Amin of Gulshan Police Station, produced the accused before the court seeking a seven-day remand. Defence lawyer Advocate Sheikh Farid petitioned for the cancellation of the remand, which was opposed by the state prosecution.
In earlier court proceedings linked to this case, 24 accused were sent on remand last Saturday. Subsequently, nine persons were shown arrested and sent to prison on Sunday, nine more on Monday, and another seven on Tuesday.
According to the case documents, leaders of various associate organisations of activity-suspended Bangladesh Awami League and activists of banned student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League assembled in the Gulshan Police Station area at around 11:45am on 11 September.
The gathering was organised to implement anti-government agendas, tarnish the image of the elected government, put the government in an embarrassing position, chant anti-state slogans, and cause public disorder.
During the assembly, cocktails were detonated at the site and surrounding areas to instil panic among the public. Unnamed suspects, acting as members and supporters of banned entities, aimed to damage state assets and public property.
When police attempted to disperse the crowd, the suspects hurled cocktails at the officers. To bring the situation under control, police fired two rounds of rubber bullets, causing the crowd to scatter and flee. Law enforcement officers seized five cocktails from the scene.
Sub-Inspector Md Mahbub Hossain of Gulshan Police Station filed the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act, naming 118 individuals alongside 80 to 100 unnamed suspects.
