Ex-AL minister Obaidul Muktadir faces 5 days of police questioning over murder charges

He faces charges for his alleged involvement in the murder of a BNP worker

A Dhaka court has granted police five days to question deposed Awami League government minister for housing and public works RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury in connection with the murder of a BNP activist.

At a hearing on Friday the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Nazmul Hasan of Paltan Model Police Station, sought a 10-day remand, said the Court's General Registration Officer, SI Alamgir Hossain.

The former minister's lawyer opposed the remand plea and filed for bail.

But Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehra Mahbub turned down the application.

Police detained Obaidul Muktadir from Mirpur Shewrapara around 12:30am on Thursday. He was subsequently implicated in the murder case of Mokbul Hossain, who was shot dead during a police raid on the BNP’s central office on Dec 7, 2022.

According to the case dossier, BNP had planned a rally for Dec 10 amid a one-point demand movement. Earlier, on Dec 7, officers from the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, including Harunor Rashid, Mehedi Hasan, and Biplab Kumar Sarkar, conducted a raid on the BNP's Naya Paltan office.

During the raid, police reportedly clashed with party supporters, leading to extensive damage to the office and injuries among several activists.

Mokbul was shot in the chaos and later succumbed to his injuries.

Mahfuzur Rahman filed a case regarding the incident on Sept 30, implicating 256 people, including Sheikh Hasina.