Five Lawyers Sent To Jail After Remand

Five lawyers involved in a clash during the vote counting of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election in Shahbagh have been ordered to jail after completing their remand. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury rejected their bail plea on Tuesday, March 12.

Inspector Abul Kalam Azad from the Detective Branch (DB) of the police, who is also the case's investigating officer, presented the lawyers before the court after their three-day remand and requested their detention in jail. Following arguments from both sides, the court decided to send the lawyers to jail.

The lawyers, identified as Kazi Bashir Ahmed, Hasanuzzaman Tushar, Tariqul Islam, Enamul Hossain Suman, and Osman Chowdhury, all practicing at the Supreme Court, were arrested by the DB team on March 9 for their alleged involvement in the chaos and violence during the vote counting of the SCBA's 2024-25 election. They were granted a three-day remand by the court.

The altercation occurred on March 9 when vote counting during the two-day SCBA election was interrupted due to alleged interference by outsiders supporting a candidate. These outsiders attacked some lawyers at the polling center in the SCBA auditorium where votes were being counted, resulting in injuries to a lawyer. Consequently, several lawyers, including candidates and members of the election subcommittee, left the SCBA premises amidst a tense situation.