A Dhaka court on Tuesday ordered nine individuals to be sent to jail in connection with a case filed over the attack, arson, and looting at the Karwan Bazar office of the English daily The Daily Star.
The same court also ordered two more individuals to jail in a separate case concerning the attack on Prothom Alo.
Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam passed the orders Tuesday evening following a hearing, confirmed state prosecutors Shamsuddoha Suman and Md Kaiyum Hossain Nayan.
The nine accused in The Daily Star case are Mohammad Mainul Islam, Zulfiqar Ali Sourav, Md Almas Ali, Jubayer Hossain, Aynul Haque Kashemy, Abdul Rahman Palash, Md Jannatul Naim, Qari Muazbin Abdul Rahman, and Md Faisal Ahmed. The two accused in the Prothom Alo case are Yasin and Md Hashem.
Earlier, Investigating Officer Inspector Md Ashiq Iqbal of Tejgaon Police Station produced the accused in court and filed a petition seeking to keep them in custody. The petition said the suspects were arrested during raids at multiple locations with assistance from the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, based on specific information and witness statements. It noted that the investigation is ongoing and that the accused should remain in jail until their addresses are verified and the inquiry is complete.
Defense lawyers filed bail petitions, which were opposed by the state. After hearing both sides, the court denied bail and ordered the suspects sent to prison.
Case background
According to the case statement, at around 12:35 am on Friday, a group of attackers carrying sticks and flammable materials entered the building shouting provocative slogans. They physically assaulted The Daily Star employees, looted cash and equipment, and set fire to multiple floors. Critical infrastructure, including fire safety systems and CCTV cameras, was destroyed.
An estimated 200 electronic devices worth around Tk5 crore and Tk35 lakh in cash were looted. Initial estimates put total damage at approximately Tk40 crore. Thirty employees were rescued during the attack.
Md Mizanur Rahman, head of operations at The Daily Star, filed the case at Tejgaon Police Station on Monday, accusing 350 to 400 unidentified individuals.
In a related incident the same night, another case was filed against 400 to 500 unidentified individuals for the attack, vandalism, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo office. On Monday, 15 other individuals were sent to jail in connection with that case.
