A Dhaka court on Tuesday placed former Awami League (AL) lawmaker and renowned folk singer Momtaz Begum on a four-day remand in a case filed over the killing of Md Sagar.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana granted the remand following a hearing on a seven-day remand petition submitted by Sub-Inspector Monirul Islam of Mirpur Model Police Station, the investigation officer in the case.
Momtaz’s legal counsel, Advocate Rezaul Karim, sought bail for his client during the hearing.
Earlier on Monday, Momtaz, who had been on the run, was arrested late Monday night from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area by plainclothes detectives. She is accused in multiple cases related to July uprising.
According to the case documents, Md Sagar was shot on July 19, 2024, during a protest held at Mirpur Golchattar as part of the countrywide anti-discrimination student movement.
Witnesses reported that Awami League supporters opened fire on demonstrators at around 4:30pm that day. Sagar, shot in the chest, later died at a hospital. His mother, Beauty Akhter, located his body in the early hours of the next morning after a frantic search.
On November 27, 2024, she filed a murder case at Mirpur Model Police Station, naming 243 individuals, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Momtaz Begum, who is listed as the 49th accused. The case also includes 250 to 400 unidentified persons.
However, this is not the only murder case in which Momtaz has been named.
Police sources confirm that she is also an accused in two other separate murder cases in Manikganj. One case, filed on October 10, 2024, alleges that Momtaz, along with 37 police personnel and 90 others, was responsible for a 2013 incident in Govindol Bazar, where four individuals, including a madrasa teacher, were killed during an opposition rally.
Another case, filed on October 23, 2024, at Singair Police Station, names Momtaz and 108 other AL leaders and activists in connection with a separate killing that also occurred during a political demonstration over a decade ago.
Momtaz began her political career in 2009 when she was elected to parliament from a reserved women’s seat under an Awami League nomination. She later represented Manikganj-2 (Singair-Harirampur) for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2018.
While widely celebrated for her music career, her political record has become increasingly controversial amid renewed scrutiny of alleged abuses under the former regime.