25 Criminal Cases: BNP leader Milon sent to jail

A Chandpur court yesterday sent former state minister for education ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon to jail in three criminal cases, hours after he was arrested from Chittagong city.

Senior Judicial Magistrate of Chandpur Shafiul Azam sent Milon to jail after police produced him before the court, said defence lawyer Quamrul Islam.

He said his client was accused in 25 cases filed in connection with murder, mugging and vandalism. Arrest warrants were issued in 17 of them.

A former lawmaker from Chandpur-1, Milon is the international affairs secretary of BNP.

Earlier, a team of Detective Branch of Chandpur police with the help of Chittagong Metropolitan Police raided a house on Chatteshwari Road of the port city and arrested Milon, said law enforcers.

The BNP leader took shelter at the rented flat of one Shah Alam after returning home from abroad, said police.

Visiting the house yesterday afternoon, this correspondent found it under lock and key. Security guard Nurul Kabir said some 15 men wearing jackets of DB raided the house around 2:00am.

“I informed caretaker Md Alim… When he came, the men showed a photo of Shah Alam and his wife to him and asked if they lived in the five-storey building.

“Alim answered in the affirmative. The men then knocked on the door of Shah Alam's flat and asked the residents to hand Milon over to them,” Nurul said.

He said they had no idea about Milon's stay at the house.

Appearing from inside the flat, the BNP leader asked the law enforcers to give him time for taking a shower and offering Fazr prayers.

The law enforcers took Milon and Shah Alam away around 5:00am, said the security guard.

Asked about Shah Alam's profession, he said they knew him as a businessman.

Contacted, Abu Sufian, vice-president of Chattagram city BNP, said Shah Alam was not involved in BNP politics. “He might be a friend of Milon.”

The former state minister had left the country after securing bail from a court on June 5, 2012. He returned home in the middle of this month and was preparing to surrender before the court, according to BNP sources.