Bangladesh HC grants bail to 5 BNP leaders

The High Court here today granted bail to five senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) nearly 11 weeks after they were arrested amid political turmoil over the January 5 election which was eventually boycotted by the main opposition party.
Members of BNP's highest policy making standing committee Moudud Ahmed, Rafiqul Islam Miah and MK Anwar and party chief Khaleda Zia's adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo and her special assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas were granted bail on a defence plea.
Ahmed, Anwar and Miah were detained in front of a Sonargaon hotel on November 8 last year while Mintoo and Shimul were nabbed from outside Zia's Gulshan residence a few hours later on the same day soon after the opposition alliance called a nationwide 72-hour strike.

Police later accused them of several charges like masterminding violence, assaults on policemen, exploding crude bombs and street vandalism.
A separate bench of the High Court also declared "illegal and void" a lower court order for interrogating Zia's adviser and Bar Council Vice Chairman Khandaker Mahbub Hossain in police remand.
Hossain was arrested on January 7 when emerging at an event at the National Press Club in connection with blasts by suspected BNP activists at the office complex of Dhaka's deputy commissioner and the sessions and district judge.

Police also alleged that he had incited acts of sabotage in his speech at various press conferences and discussions.

But in another development, a lower court in the capital rejected bail petition of BNP Standing Committee member A S M Hannan Shah in three cases of violence.
Shah was arrested in these cases after he was detained on December 17.
The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance boycotted the January 5 polls which were marred by deadly violence and a low turnout. The Sheikh Hasina-led ruling Awami League swept the polls, winning many seats uncontested.
Despite the opposition's boycott, Hasina has insisted that her poll victory is legitimate. Nearly 30 people were killed in the deadliest election violence in the country's history.

In the run up to the polls, the opposition staged violent strikes and transport blockades in a failed attempt to derail the vote. The violence left around 200 people dead.