Oct 28 violence: Nearly 500 BNP men get anticipatory bail from HC

Around 500 local BNP leaders and activists from Dhaka, Chattogram, and Narayanganj secured six weeks' anticipatory bail from the High Court today in 33 cases filed over the violence in BNP's grand rally in Dhaka on October 28 last year.

The HC also directed the accused to surrender before the trial courts concerned after bail period.

Two separate benches granted them bail after hearing 70 petitions filed by the accused seeking bail.

The accused persons had been on the run after the cases were filed on or before October 28 last year.

The HC bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice Shahed Nuruddin granted bail to 30 BNP men from Chattogram following two bail petitions, their lawyer AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told The Daily Star.

He said the HC bench of Justice Md Iqbal Kabir Lytton and Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman granted bail to 16 BNP leaders and activists from Mohammadpur area in Dhaka following six separate bail petitions filed by the accused.

The bench led by Justice Md Iqbal Kabir Lytton granted bail to around 450 BNP leaders and activists from different upazilas of Narayanganj including Fatullah, Siddirdanj, Sonargaon, Rupganj, Araihazar and Narayanganj Sadar after holding hearing on 25 bail petitions, their lawyer Mahbubur Rahman told this correspondent.

The lawyer said the cases have been filed for politically harassing his clients and they are involved in the politics of BNP.

Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Md Monirul Islam told The Daily Star that the HC bench led by Justice Iqbal Kabir Lytton today dealt with nearly 300 bail petitions, but refused to grant bail to many accused persons on different grounds including the gravity of their offences.