MP Liton to be produced in trial court in Gaibandha on Thursday

Ruling party MP Manjurul Islam Liton has been taken to Gaibandha after his arrest in Dhaka on charges of shooting a nine-year-old boy.

Gaibandha Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 15 Oct 2015, 04:05 AM
Updated : 15 Oct 2015, 06:53 AM

He was handed over to Gaibandha police after police in Dhaka arrested him from the capital’s Uttara on Wednesday night.

The lawmaker was immediately moved to Gaibandha.

Gaibandha’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashraful Islam said their team reached the town with the MP around 6:30am on Thursday.

“He will be produced before the trial court on Thursday,” said the police official

His arrest comes after the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a High Court order directing Liton to surrender before the trial court by Oct 18.

The order meant that there were no legal restriction on arresting the lawmaker.

Liton also faces charges of looting and vandalism in another case filed by a resident of his constituency.

Both cases were filed at Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Police Station after the shooting on Oct 2.

Liton had not been seen in public after the shooting incident until he surfaced on Monday at the High Court for the hearing of his petitions seeking anticipatory bail.

The court turned down the pleas and ordered him to surrender before the court of Gaibandha’s Chief Judicial Magistrate.

After the High Court order, Liton’s counsel had said  police would not be able to arrest his client before Oct 18.

But the State moved the Supreme Court and managed to stay the High Court order.

On Oct 2, fourth-grader Shahadat Hossain Sourav was wounded when Liton allegedly fired at him.

A case was filed the next day by the family.

The incident triggered a furore in Liton’s constituency with residents calling for the cancellation of his Parliament membership.

Another resident from his constituency filed a case accusing the MP of looting and vandalism.

After the shootout, Liton's family surrendered his two firearms to police. The authorities later cancelled the permits for those.

Liton has been criticised by local Awami League leaders for his “controversial activities”.