Golam Maula Rony, the controversial ruling party lawmaker who mercilessly beat two journalists of The Independent TV on Saturday last, was arrested by the Police on Wednesday hours after a Dhaka Court cancelled his bail and issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with attempt to murder case. A team of detectives arrested Rony while he was waiting for his car at the gate of Bashundhara Residential Area around 3:40pm Wednesday, Jahangir Hossain Matabbar, deputy commissioner (South) of Detective Branch of police said.
Earlier, in the day the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan issued a warrant of arrest after cancelling his bail in a case filed for beating up two journalists— Momin and Mohsin—of ‘Independent television.’
The trial court came up with the order on the petition submitted by a sub-inspector of Shahbagh Police Station and also investigation officer of the case, seeking the cancellation of Rony’s bail.
Yunus Ali, assistant manager of the Independent Television, also filed a petition before the trial court on Tuesday seeking cancellation of Rony’s bail.
In the petition, Yunus alleged that he received death threat over his cellphone from an unknown caller on July 21, the day Rony obtained the interim bail in the case from the trial court.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, in a written statement Abu Zafar told the court that he had found evidence about the threat issued to complainant by Rony in primary investigation.
Zafar also said that Yunus filed the petition on the ground that he was being regularly threatened by the accused. ‘Therefore, the investigation cannot be done independently,’ Zafar said adding that for a neutral investigation, Rony’s bail should be revoked.
On the other hand, Rony filed a plea opposing the petition filed by Zafar and Yunus.
Assistant police commissioner Miras Uddin took part in the hearing on behalf of state. After hearing on the petition, the trial court passed the order at around 2.00pm.
Before the trial court order, Rony was seen roaming around the High Court premises. But, after moving here and there for some time in the High Court premises, he left the place at around 1.00pm without going to any law chamber.
According to sources, Rony knew that the trial court had cancelled his bail and issued arrest warrant following the petition filed by police. Therefore, he came to the HC for consulting with the lawyers about his case. But, in presence of members of the detective branch and journalists he left the court premises without any consultation, sources added.
Rony beat up Momin and Mohsin, who belong to a team that produces the crime investigation show ‘Talash’ for the Independent TV channel, at his Topkhana Road office in the capital on Saturday. The reporters went to Rony’s office on information that a bribe of more than Tk 1 crore, sent from Patuakhali, was to reach the lawmaker at his office.
In this connection, a case was filed with Shahbagh police station against 20 people mentioning the name of lawmaker Golam Maula Rony as prime suspect, on charge of attempt to murder two journalists.
The journalists secured bail from the High Court in the case on Tuesday.
On July 21, Dhaka Metropolitan magistrate Rezaul Karim freed the lawmaker on bail upon furnishing a bond of Tk 5,000 when Rony pleaded for bail after surrendering before the court Sunday.
But, the trial court on Wednesday cancelled his bail following a petition filed by the police seeking his cancellation of his bail for the interest of safe investigation.
The arrest of Rony who has previous record of assaulting journalists came on the heel of severe public reaction. Rony’s act caused serious resentment among the top rung of the ruling party and they felt that Rony’s role was tarnishing the image of the government as well as the ruling party.
The incident of beating journalist has evoked anger across the country. Senior leaders of the ruling party admitted that the incident seriously tarnished the image of the party and recommended due action against him.
Commenting on this incident, AL joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif has said the image of the party has been tarnished by the incident.
Hanif, also a special assistant to the prime minister, urged the party’s high command to take exemplary action against Rony.
“We will discuss it in the party forum and urge the party high command to take stern action against him for tarnishing the image of the party by beating journalists,” he said this while talking to The Independent Sunday.
Condemning the attack on the Independent journalists by Golam Maula Rony, information minister Hasanul Huq Inu said that his ministry would take necessary steps to ensure fair investigation into the case filed in this connection.
“This is a heinous incident. I demand exemplary punishment of the perpetrators. I also urge the Independent authority to file case in this regard, and from the ministry we shall monitor it so that the investigation into the case is fair. No person is above the law,” the minister told the media immediately after the incident.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed also condemned the incident and demanded exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.
The journalist community across the country started severe protest soon after the incident Describing the controversial lawmaker of the ruling Awami League, Golam Maula Rony, as a “terrorist”, journalists’ leaders demanded the MP’s arrest within seven days.
They also demanded cancellation of his membership of Parliament for assaulting two journalists of Independent Television.
The journalists’ leaders also declared Rony persona non grata and an enemy of the mass media. They urged all television channels to boycott him in the TV talk shows.
-With The Independent input
