Fifteen people have been sent to jail in connection with an attack involving vandalism, looting, and arson at the office of the daily Prothom Alo.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman on Monday rejected the bail petitions of the accused and ordered that they be sent to prison.
Earlier, investigation officer of the case and Tejgaon Police Station Inspector Abdul Hannan, produced the accused before the court and sought their detention in jail.
The accused are Naim Islam, Sagar Islam, Ahad Sheikh, Biplob, Nazrul Islam alias Minhaj, Jahangir, Sohel Mia, Hasan, Mohammad Russel, Abdul Baker Sheikh alias Alamin, Rashedul Islam, Saidur Rahman, Abul Kashem, Pranto Sikder, and Raju Ahmed, according to prosecution sub-inspector Selim Reza.
Advocate Hossain Ahmad sought bail for accused Biplob and Hasan, while Emadullah Mollah, Md Abdullah, and other lawyers filed bail petitions for the remaining accused. Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi opposed the pleas.
Addressing the court, Faruqi said attacks and vandalism at Prothom Alo could not be justified under any circumstances. He noted that Prothom Alo and The Daily Star are among Bangladesh’s most widely read and credible newspapers, followed by embassies and international audiences, and said the incident had damaged the country’s global image.
He added that the accused carried out vandalism and looting, seized documents and expensive equipment, and issued death threats to journalists and staff present at the office. Some had also incited others to join the attack through social media posts.
Responding to defense arguments, Faruqi said many of the accused were seen livestreaming from the scene, as shown in CCTV footage, and that the incident was covered by online media. He emphasized that the arrests were made after identifying the suspects from video footage and live broadcasts, not arbitrarily.
At one point, the accused told the court they did not commit any crime. They asked to search and investigate—punish them if any offense was found.
Defense lawyers argued that the investigating officer had failed to specifically identify any of the accused and that they had been arrested indiscriminately. They claimed the accused had no involvement in the incident and were not visible in any video footage.
They also said one of the accused, Abdul Barek, is a rickshaw puller who was picked up from the street. Allegations of looting money to buy a television and refrigerator were false, as the items had been purchased with personal funds and receipts were available. The lawyers added that the arrested individuals included day laborers and rickshaw pullers who had been detained without justification.
Following the attack, vandalism, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo office, a case was filed at Tejgaon Police Station on Sunday night under sabotage, anti-terrorism, and special powers laws, accusing 400 to 500 unidentified individuals. After the case was filed, 15 people were arrested from different areas.
