MP Rony gets bail

The High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to ruling Awami League MP Golam Maula Rony in a case filed over assaulting two journalists of a private TV channel.

He managed to secure the bail on Tuesday after the Magistrate’s and Judge courts had rejected his earlier bail petitions.

The vacation bench of Justices Md Nizamul Huq and Kashefa Hussain granted him bail following the hearing on his latest petition.

Advocate Abdul Baset Majumder and Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal represented Rony in the court on Tuesday.

Kajal told bdnews24.com, “The court issued a ruling asking why Rony should not be given bail. He has been granted interim bail until the rule is resolved.”

The court has ordered the plaintiffs of the case to respond within four weeks.

But the Awami League lawmaker has not been released as he was still shown arrested in two other cases.

Kajal said they had also sought bail in those cases in the court.

Defence lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder told reporters, “This is an act of enmity. The court gave him bail considering the overall situation.”

They argued that as an MP, Rony should be given bail before the next Parliament session.

Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Masud Hasan Chowdhury said during the hearing , “He assaulted journalists when he is an MP. The nation does not expect this from him. He threatened them after he was bailed violating the conditions. He should not be given bail.”

However, the court granted Rony bail after the hearing.

Two journalists – reporter Imtiaz Momin Sony and cameraman Mohsin Mukul - of the private channel Independent TV came under attack at Rony's Meherba Plaza office on Topkhana Road on July 20 when they had gone there to interview the MP for their investigative programme 'Talash'.

The video footage captured by the journalists showed Rony himself attacking and kicking the two journalists.

The channel's management had filed a case that day against the Patuakhali-3 MP with the Shahbagh Police Station.

Rony had secured bail after surrendering to a court, but another court on July 25 scrapped his bail and ordered his arrest after the TV management lodged a general diary saying the ruling party MP had threatened the journalists.

Police arrested and presented him before the court where his bail plea was rejected and Rony was sent to jail.

After his bail plea was rejected at the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court, Rony on July 28 appealed to the Judge court for bail. But that was rejected too.

He was elected MP from the Patuakhali-3 (Golachipa-Doshmina) seat in the 2008 national polls. Rony has earlier been accused of beating up journalists.