Arson on Setu Bhaban: 2 more placed on remand

A Dhaka court today placed two people including Asif Mahtab, a former teacher of BRAC University, on a six-day remand each in a case filed over vandalising and setting Setu Bhaban on fire in the capital’s Banani on July 18.
The other accused is Arif Sohel, one of coordinators of quota reform movement and a student of the 2017-18 academic session at the Jahangirnagar University’s International Relations department.
Earlier in the day, both were shown arrested in the case even though their names were not in the first information report (FIR).
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mainul Islam passed the order after Abu Sayeed Miah, an inspector of Detective Branch of Police and also investigation officer of the case, produced them with a 10-day remand prayer.
The defence submitted separate petitions, seeking bail along with the cancellation of remand on the grounds that their clients were implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass them.
Hearing both sides, the court turned down the defence pleas and placed the accused on remand.
Detectives picked up Asif Mahtab from his residence at Dhaka after 1:00am on Saturday.
Some eight to 10 plainclothes men identifying themselves as DB officials picked up Arif around 4:00am yesterday from his rented house near JU, said Arif’s younger sister Umme Khair Hridi.
Earlier, police arrested Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Manju) Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho and top businessman KM Rezaul Hasanat David in the same case.
Later, another Dhaka court placed them on a five-day remand each.
Before that, former DUCSU vice-president Nurul Haque Nur was placed on a five-day remand in the same case.
On July 18, nearly 250-300 unidentified people stormed the Setu Bhaban, vandalised many vehicles, motorbikes, and ransacked different sheds and rooms. They later set those on fire.