Arson charges against Khaleda, 38 others

Darussalam police yesterday pressed charges against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 38 others in three more arson cases filed in February last year.

In the charge sheets submitted to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka, Khaleda is identified as mastermind though her name was not mentioned in the first information reports of the cases.

Of the accused, seven are now on bail while Khaleda and 31 others have been shown as fugitive. Khaleda and 20 others are common accused in all the three charge sheets.

Sub-inspector Md Raihanuzzaman, investigation officer of the cases, appealed to the court to issue arrest warrants for Khaleda and 31 others.

The charge sheets will be placed on June 21 and July 17 for hearing.

BNP leaders Syeda Ashifa Asharafi Papia, Sultan Salauddin Tuku, Mir Sarafat Ali Safu, Shimul Biswas and Maruf Kamal are among the accused mentioned as fugitive in the charge sheets.

According to one of the cases, a group of the BNP-led alliance on instructions of Khaleda torched a minibus in front of Apex Showroom in the city's Darussalam during the party's non-stop anti-government movement on February 2 last year. 

The IO pressed charges against Khaleda and 32 others in this case.

In the second case, the BNP chief and 26 others have been charged with torching a minibus on February 23 last year on Mazar Road in Darussalam area.      

In the third case, Khaleda and 20 others have been accused of torching another minibus on February 20, 2015 at Diabari of Darussalam.

Earlier, Darussalam police submitted charge sheets against Khaleda and several other BNP leaders and activists in six arson cases.