Journalist Shaukat Mahmood, former president of the National Press Club and secretary general of Janata Party Bangladesh, has been sent to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Shahbagh Police Station.
The court has also set 11 December to hear the police request for a 10-day remand. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana issued the order on Monday.
On Sunday, Shaukat Mahmood was arrested in the same case in which Enayet Karim Chowdhury, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, had been detained on allegations of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government.
After Mahmood’s arrest, the investigating officer, Inspector Akhtar Morshed of the DB Ramna Zonal Team, produced him before the court on Monday and sought a 10-day remand.
DB police brought Mahmood to court on Monday noon. He was kept in the custody cell of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka. Sub-Inspector Jinnat Ali of the prosecution said the remand hearing could not take place because the main case file was unavailable.
For this reason, the hearing was rescheduled for next Thursday.
Mahmood, who had earlier held the position of vice chairman in the BNP, was removed from the role in March 2023 following accusations of activities deemed to be against the party’s interests.
According to the case statement, Enayet Karim Chowdhury had travelled to the United States in 1988 and obtained US citizenship in 2004.
The case alleges that on 6 September Chowdhury arrived in Bangladesh from New York as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency with the intention of toppling the country’s lawful interim government.
The case further states that on 13 September at around 10:30am, Chowdhury was seen moving suspiciously in a Prado vehicle in the Minto Road area. When police stopped the car and asked why he was there, he could not provide an explanation.
Chowdhury was taken into custody, and two iPhones were seized from him. He was later booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Ramna Model Police Station.
Subsequently, several others – including Kazi Md Mamunur Rashid, secretary general of the Raushan-led faction of the Jatiya Party – were arrested in connection with the same case.
