Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested former Minister of Public Administration Farhad Hossain in connection with a murder case filed at Adabor Police Station in Dhaka not any case filed in Meherpur.
He was arrested on Saturday night (September 14) in the Eskaton area of the capital and handed over to Adabor Police Station.
Sources in Meherpur said, two cases were filed against him in which the plaintiff of the case has petitioned to withdraw the case.
According to Meherpur police, a case against Farhad in connection to the killing of Jamaat’s Meherpur district unit General Secretary Tariq Md. Saiful Islam has been filed 10 years after the incident in the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Meherpur on September 9. Along with Farhad, there are 19 other accused in the case, including the then Superintendent of Police (SP) Nahidul Islam.
Taufiq-ul-Islam, younger brother of the victim, filed the case. The court accepted the case and ordered the officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station to file an FIR.
Other accused in the case include the then Additional Superintendent of Police of Meherpur, Mostafizur Rahman, Abdul Jalil, Executive Magistrate of the District Administration Saeed Mohammad Mazumder, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Farid Hossain, Captain Ashraf Hossain of RAB’s Gangni Camp, RAB’s DAD Jahangir Alam, Nayek Subedar of BGB Md. Asad Miah, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the District Detective Branch Babul Akhtar, OC of Sadar Police Station Riazul Islam, Inspector (Investigation) of Sadar Police Station Tariqul Islam, Sub-Inspector A. Hannan, Constable Sadhan Kumar, Detective Branch Constable Narad Kumar, former President of Sadar Awami League and former Chairman of District Council Golam Rasool, former President of District Chhatra League Barikul Islam, and former member of Sadar Awami League Darud Ali.
According to the case, Saiful Islam was allegedly taken away from the Bara Bazar area by members of the police, RAB, BGB, and DB on January 19, 2014 and was killed in a “gunfight” with law enforcement agencies.
Officer-In-Charge of Meherpur Sadar police station Sheikh Koni Mia said that the police are investigating the case.
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed to withdraw a case filed against Farhad in connection with an alleged attack on students during an anti-discrimination movement in Meherpur.
On August 21, Hasnat Zaman, the plaintiff, applied for withdrawal of the case at the Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal and District Judge Court in Meherpur.
The case had named 68 people from Awami League and its affiliated organizations.
Sources from the court said, the withdrawal petition has been accepted, but no directive has been issued by the judge yet.
Farhad Hossain was the Minister of Public Administration in the 12th National Parliament. Previously, he served as the State Minister for the same ministry. In this election, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Meherpur-1 (Sadar) constituency. He contested the election with the party nomination of Awami League for the third consecutive term.