A Dhaka court today placed former army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan on an eight-day remand for interrogation in a case filed over the death of a shop employee in the capital’s New Markest area on July 16.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arfatul Rakib passed the order after investigation officer Sajib Mia, a sub-inspector of New Market Police Station, produced him before the court with a 10-day remand appeal in the case, said a sub-inspector working in the court.
The defence also sought bail along with the cancellation of the remand prayer.
Army, BGB, and additional police personnel were deployed on the premises of the court ahead of Ziaul being produced there.
Ziaul, former director general of NTMC, was arrested from Dhaka’s Khilkhet in a case filed with New Market Police Station over the killing of Shahjahan Ali, 24, during quota reform protests on July 16.
He was relieved of his post in the army on August 6 and was detained in dramatic circumstances around midnight the same day after the plane he was on was brought back from the Dhaka airport runway to the boarding bridge.
During the proceedings today, Ziaul told the court that since his detention on August 7, he was kept at Aynaghar (a secret detention facility), where during the tenure of Hasina’s government many people were kept confined and tortured for years.Â
He also claimed that Aynaghar was not his creation and that no one ever filed any complaint, case or even a general diary against it.
Claiming his innocence, he asserted that he had not visited the New Market area during the incident.
He also mentioned that he is suffering from heart issues.
On Wednesday, Salman F Rahman, private industry affairs adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and former law minister Anisul Huq were placed on a 10-day remand in the same case.
The duo was arrested in Dhaka’s Sadarghat on Tuesday.
On July 17, Ayesha Begum, mother of the victim, filed a murder case against some unnamed miscreants.
The victim Shahjahan was critically injured and died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at 7:05pm while undergoing treatment, according to the case statement.
