A Dhaka court on Monday evening placed two former army officers on a four-day remand in a case filed over alleged anti-state conspiracy and plotting to destabilise the country.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam passed the order following a hearing on Monday evening.
The two accused are retired Lieutenant Colonel Bijoy Debashish Narayan Paul and retired Lieutenant Kazi Gulshan Ara.
Earlier, the investigating officer of the case, Inspector Sheikh Bashir Ahmed of the Cyber and Special Crime Division under the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), produced the accused in the court dock at around 5:45pm and applied for a seven-day remand.
In the remand application, the investigating officer stated that interrogating the accused was necessary to identify the whereabouts of co-accused, verify domestic and international linkages, recover digital evidence, trace Facebook pages or websites operated by them, and unearth the primary mystery behind the occurrence.
Arguing in favour of the remand prayer, the officer alleged that the duo participated in a WhatsApp meeting with a former home minister and were involved in various plots to destabilise the country.
State prosecution lawyer Harun Ur Rashid supported the remand prayer, arguing that the accused maintained regular contact with leaders and activists of the ousted Awami League government.
He stated that they had a nexus with domestic and foreign spies, and that their remand was required to obtain detailed information regarding their planning and acts of sabotage.
Seeking cancellation of the remand application, defence lawyer Abdullah Al Mansur argued that although anti-state charges were brought against Debashish, the remand plea failed to specify any concrete offence.
Another defence lawyer, Mohammad Mashiur Rahman, appearing for Gulshan Ara, argued that while she was accused of trying to destabilise the country through talk show statements, the application mentioned neither the specific statements made nor what information was recovered.
Upon hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted a four-day remand.
The two former military officials had been arrested on Sunday night by members of the Pallabi Zonal Team of DMP’s Detective Branch.
An inspector of DB Police filed the case as plaintiff under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Cyber Security Act.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the arrestees were involved in anti-government propaganda on social media, fund collection, and creating content inciting violence.
The FIR further alleged that operating through a platform named ‘Unity Care Public Parliament’, the accused maintained contact with former army chief General (Retd) Aziz Ahmed, a former home minister, and fugitive top leadership to rehabilitate the banned Awami League and engage in anti-state conspiracy.
It stated that since 5 August 2024, the accused and their associates had been carrying out anti-government and defamatory propaganda against the government and the country.
