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The former home minister was detained in connection with cases over the BNP's violent anti-government rally on Oct 28
Published : 05 Nov 2023, 04:35 PM
A court has ordered BNP Vice-Chairman Altaf Hossain Chowdhury to jail in connection with a case over the attacks on the chief justice's residence during the opposition group's anti-government rally on Oct 28.
Altaf, a former home minister, was detained by the Rapid Action Battalion from a residence in Tongi, on Saturday, the eve of a fresh 48-hour blockade called by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
According to the agency, he is implicated in cases related to the political violence on Oct 28, including one over the attack on the chief justice's residence filed with Ramna Police Station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sheikh Sadee rejected Altaf's bail plea after he was produced in court on Sunday.
Altaf, a former Air Force chief, served as the home minister from 2001 to 2004 during the coalition government of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
On Oct 28, the BNP staged a mass rally in Naya Paltan to press for the formation of a non-partisan caretaker government during the election period amid mounting political tensions.
During the rally, BNP leaders and activists clashed with the police in Paltan, and the violence quickly spread to other areas of the city.
A police box and an ambulance in the police hospital were torched, while a dozen of vehicles were set ablaze. The chief justice's residence also came under attack. A police officer was beaten to death and a Jubo Dal activist was killed.
As many as 36 cases were filed with different police stations across Dhaka. Top BNP leaders, including Altaf, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Mirza Abbas, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Abdul Awal Mintu, and Barkat Ullah Bulu, have been named in cases related to the violence.
