Journalist Munni Saha released on condition

She has been released on the condition of appearing before court in cases filed against her

Police have released journalist Munni Saha after detaining her following a confrontation with a mob outside her office in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar.

Additional Commissioner Rezaul Karim Mallik of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch said they did not arrest her ‘on their own’ and freed her under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or CrPC, on the ‘condition of appearing before court’ in connection with the cases against her.

A group of people cordoned Munni off after she had left the office of ‘Ek Takar Khobor', her current workplace, in Karwan Bazar around 9:30pm on Saturday.

Police immediately arrived at the scene after the incident was reported to them amid the tension and took her into custody afterwards.

Citing four cases against her, Tejgaon Police Station chief Mobarak Hossain then said Munni was taken to the DB office in the capital’s Minto Road.

Announcing her release four hours after the incident, Mallik said: “She was terrified after being surrounded by the crowd in Karwan Bazar and as she is a woman, police rescued her from there and took her to Tejgaon Police Station. She was later taken to the DB office."

“We are releasing her under the family’s care on the condition that she appears before court in the four cases against her under Section 497 of the CrPC."

Section 497 of the CrPC allows the release on bail of any person by the police for a non-bailable offence. It is not the legal right of an accused to get bail in a non-bailable offence under this section; rather it is the discretionary power of the court to grant bail in a non-bailable offence.

When it was decided to release Munni under this section, the chiefs of the police stations where there are cases against her came and handed her over to her family after completing the ‘necessary procedures’.

Mobarak earlier said there are four lawsuits against Munni in connection with the incidents that occurred in Dhaka’s Mohakhali and Mirpur during the mass uprising in July and August.

Seven journalists, including Saha, were named along with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, several MPs and ministers; Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League leaders; and police and RAB officials in a case tied to the shooting death of 17-year-old student Nayeem Howlader in Dhaka’s Jatrabari during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement initiated by his father Kamrul Islam.

On Oct 6, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, or BFIU, sought information about Munni's bank accounts.

Munni began her journalism career at the Daily Ajker Kagoj and later moved to the Daily Bhorer Kagoj.

She made a name for herself while working as a reporter for Ekushey TV in 1999.

She also worked as a special correspondent of ATN Bangla in 2003 and as chief correspondent of ATN News in 2010.

She was the editor-in-chief of ATN News from 2016 before resigning in May 2023 over disagreements with the owners.

Munni later joined the online news portal named ‘Ek Takar Khobor'.

Along with MPs and ministers of the Awami League government, police have arrested several journalists.

On Aug 21, Ekattor Television’s former head of news Shakil Ahmed and its former chief correspondent Farzana Rupa were arrested from Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka before leaving Bangladesh.

Later, journalists Shyamal Dutta and Mozammel Haque Babu were detained from the border in Mymensingh’s Dhobaura Upazila on Sept 16.

Shyamal, the editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj, was the general secretary of the National Press Club while Babu is the managing director of Ekattor Television and the president of Editors Guild Bangladesh.

All of them were sent to jail in murder cases tied to the mass uprising.