A Brahmanbaria court yesterday granted a five-day remand for Dewan Atiqur Rahman Ankhi, one of the main accused in a case filed over the October 30 attack on Hindus in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar.
Police produced Ankhi, an alleged organiser of the attack, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court with a seven-day remand prayer for interrogation, said Mahbubur Rahman, a court inspector.
Ankhi’s lawyer Mahbubur Rahman opposed the remand prayer, citing “sickness” of his client. Senior Judicial Magistrate Shoraf Uddin Ahmed rejected his prayer and placed Ankhi on a five-day remand.
On Thursday, a patrol team of Bhatara Police Station in the capital arrested Ankhi, also the chairman of Haripur Union Parishad in Brahmanbaria and a local ruling Awami League leader. Later, he was handed over to the detectives from Brahmanbaria.
On October 30, unruly zealots carried out a synchronised attack on the Hindus, vandalised around 100 homes and some 17 temples and looted valuables in Nasirnagar over an anti-Islam Facebook post.
Police have so far arrested 109 people in the eight cases filed for the attack, and six accused have so far given confessional statements in court.
ANKHI’S ALLEGED ROLE IN THE MAYHEM
After his arrest, Iqbal Hossain, additional superintendent of police in Brahmanbaria, told this newspaper that the arrest of Ankhi is a big success as they believe the motive, masterminds and main instigators would be found through interrogating him.
According to the ASP, Ankhi is “one of the key instigators and organisers” of the attack. Insiders in police and local Awami League said Ankhi mobilised the attackers as per the instruction of his political patrons in Brahmanbaria.
On November 29, police arrested Jahangir Alam, owner of Al-Amin Cyber Point and Studio at Horinber Bazar in Haripur, who allegedly played an active role in inciting locals against Hindus after the post appeared on the Facebook wall of Hindu fisherman Rasraj Das.
Police say someone else uploaded it using the account of Rasraj as part of a conspiracy.
In his confessional statement before a Brahmanbaria court on December 8, Jahangir said Ankhi ordered him to gather people and hire trucks for the attack.