A court has granted four days’ remand for Mohammad Jahangir Alam, superintendent of police (SP) of the Chattogram Range Reserve Force (RRF), who was arrested in a sedition case on allegations of involvement in a plan for the return of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and of contact with leaders of the Awami League, whose activities are banned.
Judge Mohammad Mostafa of the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court-4 gave the order after a hearing on Sunday (15 November) afternoon.
The Special Response Unit (SRU), a specialised police unit, had sought seven days’ remand to question Jahangir Alam in the interest of the investigation. After the hearing the court granted four days. It also ordered the remand report submitted within seven days.
Mohammad Hasan Iqbal Chowdhury, deputy commissioner (prosecution) of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), confirmed the remand to the media.
SP Jahangir was arrested from the CMP officers’ mess in the city late on Saturday night. With the home ministry’s permission, Abul Kashem Chowdhury, an assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of the Chattogram Range Reserve Force, filed the sedition case against him. Members of the police and the Special Response Unit arrested him soon after the case was filed at Panchlaish police station.
Police allege that Jahangir Alam kept in contact with leaders of the banned Awami League, and was also in contact with people involved in plans for the return of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. He is further accused of supplying internal and sensitive police information to Awami League leaders.
On Sunday morning, Md Abdul Quddus Chowdhury, deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Chattogram range, said two important messages about the rehabilitation of the banned Awami League had been found in a WhatsApp group on Jahangir Alam’s mobile phone.
They read: “The previous government (the banned Awami League) will be rehabilitated by December” and “In December everyone will take to the field, staking their lives”.
Earlier, on Tuesday, after receiving preliminary information about the allegations, the DIG called Jahangir Alam to his office and questioned him. Both his personal and official mobile phones were seized that day and later sent for forensic examination to the Special Branch (SB) at Police Headquarters in Dhaka.
Jahangir Alam is an officer of the 28th BCS (police) batch. He joined the police on 1 December 2010.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report