Police say they have found important information regarding the violent clashes between Dhaka College students and New Market shopkeepers after interrogating Advocate Mokbul Hossain, former president of the New Market branch of the BNP.
A court remanded Mokbul for three days on Saturday after he was arrested from his home in Dhanmondi on Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
Asked what the first day of the interrogation had revealed, Additional Commissioner Shahen Shah of New Market Zone said: “We have obtained some important information and it is being scrutinised.”
A case over the clashes claims that Mokbul and 23 others were present at the scene when the violence began.
Two people were killed and dozens injured after the violence between Dhaka College students and New Market shopkeepers continued into Apr 19.
Asked about Mokbul’s interrogation, Shahenshah said the suspect was still denying that he was at the scene, but that police had information that he had been present and had acted as an agitator.
The case Mokbul is accused in includes charges of attacking police.
According to the case filed by Inspector Yamin Kabir of New Market Police station, police received a report around 11:45 pm on Apr 18 that 200-300 Dhaka College students were vandalising the area around New Market Gate No. 4.
Police personnel then went to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control. The students responded by moving on to vandalising the area near Gate No. 2 and inside New Market.
Police then tried to put a stop to the violence and the students returned to the Dhaka College gates and took up positions with bamboo sticks, steel rods and hockey sticks, the case documents say.
Police then gathered around Chandrima Market.
The case accuses Mokbul, several other named suspects, and 200-300 unnamed New Market shop owners and workers and of picking up sticks, rods and hockey sticks, and then charging towards Dhaka College while throwing brickbats.
About 10-15 police personnel were physically injured while trying to stop the violence, the case says.
Mokbul and 11 others are accused of inciting the clashes.
Law enforcers are scanning the footage from over 100 CCTV cameras in the area as part of their investigation, Additional Commissioner Shahen Shah had previously said.
“We found a lot of information in the video we have collected so far – including who were directly involved and who provoked them.”
According to city corporation records, Mokbul is registered as the owner of the stores ‘Welcome’ and ‘Capital Fast Food’ – whose employees were involved in sparking the violence on Monday night.
However, Mokbul does not run either of the stores himself and instead rents them out.
Mokbul, a lawyer by trade, has maintained his innocence and claimed that he was framed due to his political affiliation.
The BNP has announced plans for nationwide protests over the arrest of Mokbul. Rallies will be held in all metropolitan cities, including Dhaka, on Apr 26, BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a media briefing on Saturday.
