Sunamganj Mayhem: Prime suspect gets bail

A Sunamganj court yesterday granted bail to the prime accused in cases filed in connection with the attack on Hindu houses in Naogaon village of the district's Shalla upazila on March 17.

After hearing the bail plea, Sunamganj District and Sessions Judge Md Wahiduzzaman Sikder granted bail to Shahidul Islam Swadhin, said Selim Nawaj, court inspector of Sunamganj police.

A Facebook post by Jhumon Das Apon of Naogaon village criticising Hefajat-e-Islam leader Mamunul Haque allegedly led to the mayhem in the village, where about 90 Hindu houses were vandalised and looted.

The next day, two cases were filed with the Shalla Police Station -- one by Habibpur union chairman and a victim of the attacks Bibekananda Majumdar Bakul, and another by Sub-inspector Abdul Karim of the station -- naming Shahidul as prime accused along with several other named accused, and hundreds of unnamed accused.

Shahidul, a member of Sarmangal union parishad in Derai upazila, was arrested by Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on March 20 from Moulvibazar.

He is a resident of Nachni village adjacent to Naogaon and locally known as a leader of Jubo League, the ruling Awami League's youth front. Jubo League, however, claimed that he was not a leader of the organisation.

Meanwhile, Jhumon Das Apon was also detained by police the night before the attack and the police on March 22 filed a case against him under the Digital Security Act.

He is still in jail as the same court repeatedly denied his bail plea, his lawyer Debangshu Sekhar Das said.