Police get four days to interrogate BNP leader Annie in custody

The party’s publicity secretary was detained for questioning in an old case over vandalising vehicles and obstructing police

A court has granted police four days to interrogate BNP leader Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury Annie in their custody over an old case involving the vandalism of vehicles and obstructing police.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rashidul Alam issued the order on Wednesday in response to the police's petition for a week's remand.

He also rejected Annie's bail plea, arguing that the BNP leader had been in court on the day of the incident cited in the case.

Annie, the BNP's publicity secretary, was detained by police from his Dhanmondi home in the early hours of Wednesday.

The case dossier states that on May 23, a group of 10,000-15,000 activists of the BNP and its affiliate organisations were dispersing after a procession near Dhanmondi's City College when they used improvised weapons, sticks, brickbats, and improvised explosives to hinder police work.

The group is also accused of attacking police, attempting to overthrow the government, damaging public property, vandalising public transport and creating terror and unrest by detonating explosives and other destructive activities.

Several law enforcers were seriously injured while trying to bring the situation under control, the case documents said.

In the interest of safeguarding public security and protecting property, police dispersed the unlawful assembly, they said.