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Published : 17 May 2025, 04:44 PM
Momtaz Begum, a folk singer and former Manikganj-2 MP, has been sent to jail after completing her remand in police custody in a case over the murder of hawker Md Sagar during the July Uprising in Dhaka's Mirpur.
On Saturday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minhazur Rahman rejected her bail plea and ordered that she be sent to jail.
Momtaz was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police in Dhanmondi on May 12. The following day, the court granted a four-day remand for her interrogation.
After the remand ended on Saturday morning, the investigating officer of the case, Mirpur Model Police Station’s Sub-Inspector Monirul Islam, produced Momtaz in court and sought her detention in jail.
Her lawyer Masudur Rahman filed a bail petition on her behalf, which was opposed by the state, represented by Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi.
Following the hearing, the court rejected the bail plea and sent her to jail.
According to the case dossier, hawker Sagar took part in the July Uprising on Jul 19 in the Mirpur-10 roundabout area. It alleges that the suspects attacked and fired upon the protesters that day. Sagar was shot in the chest.
His mother, Beauty Akhtar, found his body at a private hospital at 3am the following day.
On Nov 17, Beauty filed a case at Mirpur Model Police Station over the incident. Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 242 others were named in the case, alongside 250-400 unnamed suspects. Momtaz is suspect No. 49 in the case.
The three-time MP has been accused in several cases filed in Manikganj after the fall of the Awami League government.
Momtaz, a renowned folk singer, first entered parliament in 2008 via a reserved seat for women nominated by the Awami League. She was subsequently elected twice more on the party’s ticket.
However, she lost to another Awami League leader who stood as an independent candidate in the 12th parliamentary election.
After the fall of the Awami League government, Momtaz has been named in multiple cases related to casualties during anti-government protests.
