A Feni court has remanded Jihad Chowdhury, the alleged mastermind of Upazila Chairman Ekramul Haq Ekram’s killing, to eight days’ police custody for interrogation.
Published : 26 May 2014, 11:56 PM
Chowdhury, a leader of the ruling Awami League, has also been expelled from the party.
No one represented him in court during Monday’s hearing.
Phulgazi Upazila chairman Ekram was shot and burned to death in broad daylight in Feni town on May 20.
Seven men arrested in connection with the killing had named Chowdhury as the mastermind, elite police unit RAB has claimed.
Police arrested Chowdhury on Sunday evening from Feni’s Barahipur.
Lawyer Sharfuddin Ahmed, who was present in court, told reporters, “Jihad Chowdhury told the court that Feni Awami League unit joint secretary Jahangir Mohammad Adel had ordered him to smash Ekram’s vehicle and beat him up. But the killing was unintentional.”
Meanwhile, Ekram’s supporters have set fire to the houses of former Anandapur Union Parishad chairman and Awami League leader Belayet Patowari for his alleged connection with the killing.
On Monday, the ruling party’s student front, Bangladesh Chhatra League, claimed none of their activists were involved in the crime.
Hours later, BNP’s student wing, too, denied any of its member’s involvement with Ekram’s murder.