A Dhaka court has discharged 77 accused, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas and Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, in a case over the torching of vehicles in the capital’s Shahbagh area in 2019.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sabbir Foyez issued the discharge order today after accepting the police final report, court officials said.

Defense lawyer Syed Zainul Abedin Mezbah confirmed the decision, claiming the cases were filed to harass opposition leaders. “Police investigations found no substantiation and recommended discharge in the final report, which the court has now accepted,” he said. He added that on Sunday, in another case stemming from the same incident, the court similarly discharged 70 accused, including Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas.

Case background

According to the case documents, on December 11, 2019, a day before the High Court was scheduled to hear a December 12 bail petition for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case, unidentified individuals set fire to motorcycles and other vehicles in front of the under-construction main gate of the Bangladesh Bar Council within Shahbagh Police Station limits. The FIR—lodged by Sub-Inspector Shamsur Rahman—alleged the arson aimed to influence the court and pressure the judiciary.

After investigation, the officer-in-charge submitted a final report on May 10 this year recommending discharge of 77 individuals, including senior BNP leaders. The judge took the report into cognizance and ordered the discharge today.

Other notable names originally accused

BNP leaders Abdullah Al Noman (vice-chairman), Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi (senior joint secretary general), Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel (joint secretary general), Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Saiful Alam Nirob, and Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, among others.