DHAKA — A Dhaka court on Monday granted a six-day remand of dismissed Lt. Col. Md. Afzal Naser for questioning in a murder case stemming from the July uprising, in which a man named Delwar Hossain was killed in the capital’s Mirpur area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Hasib Ullah Piyas issued the order on Monday, March 30. Earlier, the case’s investigating officer, Detective Branch sub-inspector Kafil Uddin, had sought a seven-day remand of the accused.
Omar Faruk Faruqui, chief public prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Court, argued in favor of the remand. He told the court that “the fascist Hasina” had kept former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in jail on false cases without medical treatment, and that Naser, who was an administrative officer at the hospital, had blocked her from receiving care. The accused had aided the Hasina government in remaining in power in many such ways, the prosecutor said, asking the court for a seven-day remand for a proper investigation. The defense lawyer sought bail and the cancellation of the remand. After the hearing, the court ordered the remand.
According to the application, on July 19, 2024, the victim, Delwar Hossain, was at the Mirpur-10 fruit market at 3:20 p.m. in support of the student protest movement. At that point, named and unnamed accused, along with 500 to 700 unidentified members of Awami League-affiliated groups, opened indiscriminate fire on the protesters at the direction of suspect Md. Afzal Naser, the application said. Delwar Hossain was struck by bullets and collapsed at the scene. He was taken in a bloodied state to the National Heart Institute. As his condition worsened, he was transferred the next day, July 20, to City Care General Hospital in Shyamoli for better treatment. He died there while undergoing treatment on July 21. The victim’s family filed the case.
The remand application also said preliminary inquiry had produced enough evidence pointing to the suspect’s involvement, and that a seven-day remand was needed for close police questioning to uncover the facts of the case.
Earlier on Monday morning, Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) police arrested Naser from house No. 864 on Road No. 12 in Mirpur DOHS in the capital.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report