22 private university students freed on bail in Badda, Bhatara cases

All the 22 private university students, who were arrested on charges related to violent protests in two cases started at Badda and Bhatara police stations, have been released on bail ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.

The students from Aftabnagar’s East West University, Bashundhara’s North South University, Tejgaon’s South East University and Mohakhali’s BRAC University were in jail after grilling in police custody.

Courts in Dhaka granted them bail on Sunday and Monday after demonstrations by their peers and different organisations for their release before Eid.

Sixteen of them were released on Sunday and the remaining four on Monday, prison officials said.

Jailor Mahbubul Islam at Dhaka Central Jail said they freed the four immediately on receipt of court orders on Monday afternoon.

“No-one of the 22 students is in jail now,” he said.

Released students with their friends and families on Sunday.

Senior Jail Superintendent Iqbal Kabir Chowdhury said nine others arrested in the cases were freed on Monday morning and as many students on Sunday.

The 22 have been identified as Ridwan Ahmed, Masad Mortuza Bin Ahad, Foyez Ahmed Adnan, Azizul Hakim, Rislatul Ferdous, Rashedul Islam, ‘Bayezid’, Mushfiqur Rahman, Iftekhar Ahmed, Reza Rifat Akhlaq, AHM Khalid Reza, Tariqul Islam, Noor Mohammad, Simanta Sarker, Iktider Hossain, Jahidul Haque, ‘Hasan’, Saber Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan, Shihab Shahriar, Shakhawat Hossain and Aminul Ehsan.

On Aug 6, the ninth day of protests calling for road safety, police were mobilised in front of several private universities in Dhaka and clashed with protesters.

They arrested 81 people in 43 cases over alleged attacks on police and vandalism of properties during the protests.

On Sunday, judges at Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court of Dhaka granted bail to 41 of these 81.