A Dhaka court on Friday sent BNP woman lawmaker Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papiya and two pro-BNP lawyers Barrister Abu Bakar Siddique and Advocate Towhidul Islam, to the jail custody after they were produced before it. The court, however, fixed August 8 to hear a police petition seeking 10-day remand for the three with investigation progress report. Metropolitan magistrate Md Shahadat Hossain directed the jail authorities to produce them before it on that day.
Earlier, the police brought the three detained lawyers to the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court on Friday afternoon with a plea for 10-day remand for each of them.
But the hearing on the police petition was not held as the investigation officer did not submit the necessary documents along with the petition and the court sent the accused to the jail.
Nearly one hundred pro-BNP lawyers, who were present in the courtroom, created a pandemonium shortly after the judge passed the orders. They demanded holding of the hearing immediately.
Granting a prayer of the defence lawyers, the court also asked the jail authorities to provide Papiya first class division as per jail code.
Earlier, the pro-BNP lawyers brought out a procession in the court premises protesting the arrest of three lawyers immediately after they were brought to the court premises amid tight security. On Thursday, law enforcers arrested Papiya and the two other pro-BNP lawyers just after a High Court judge felt embarrassed to hear their bail plea in connection with a criminal case filed against them on charges of assaulting police and preventing them from performing duties at the High Court on Tuesday.
The three lawyers were also shown arrested in another case filed with Ramna Police Station on June 4 on charge of torching a vehicle in front of Dolphin car centre in Ramna area in the city.
The three were arrested a day after the High Court ordered 13 lawyers involved in the Tuesday’s chaos not to enter courts across the country and asked the Bar Association to explain why their licences should not be cancelled and the persons punished.
Another 11 lawyers tied to BNP face similar charges in the case filed on Tuesday. The other lawyers are Sharif Uddin Ahmed, Qamrul Islam Sajal, Shahiduzzaman, Mirza Al Mahmud, Mahmud Arefin Swapan, Abdullah Al Mahmud, Enamul Hossain Gaffar, M U Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Khristan Nabi and Rezwan Ahmed.
Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee president Shahriar Kabir on July 20 filed a writ petition against Amini following his controversial remarks on the nation’s charter.
Going further than what BNP chief Khaleda Zia had said with regard to the constitution, Amini had said at a meeting at Lalbagh on July 14, “It will not do if the amended constitution is only thrown away. It has to be thrown into a dustbin.”
A day earlier, Khaleda Zia had said that the constitution would be thrown away when her party took office.
Lawyers with BNP and Awami League leanings began scuffling during the hearing after the High Court bench stated that difference between the statement of Amini and that of Khaleda Zia was negligible.
“We did not summon the opposition leader out of respect as a former prime minister. We warn that such statements will not be tolerated in future,” the bench said.
-With The Independent input
