Krishak Dal leader Babul sent to jail in sabotage case

He is implicated in a case involving charges of obstructing government work and holding an illegal rally

A Dhaka court has sent Shohidul Islam Babul, secretary general of the BNP-affiliated Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, to prison over his conviction in a case dating back six years.

Babul surrendered before a Dhaka magistrate’s court on Monday and sought bail pending appeal. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman rejected the petition and ordered him to jail.

Following the hearing, Babul’s lawyer Sadekul Islam Bhuiyan said they would lodge an appeal with the High Court. “We are hopeful the court will grant him bail.”

The case, filed during the previous Awami League government, charged Babul with “obstructing government work and holding an illegal rally”.

In November 2023, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and fined Tk 2,000 under one count, and handed a one-year prison term and another fine of Tk 2,000 under the other count.

The charges stem from an incident on Oct 31, 2017, when BNP activists gathered in the Paltan area as party chief Khaleda Zia returned to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar. Police said the activists blocked VIP Road, chanted anti-government slogans, and attempted vandalism.

The case was filed then by then sub-inspector Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil of Paltan Model Police Station, with the chargesheet submitted in July 2019.