Plot to abduct, kill JOY: Shafik Rehman arrested, remanded in custody

The Detective Branch of police arrested journalist Shafik Rehman at his Eskaton house in Dhaka on Saturday morning.
The 82-year-old journalist was later remanded in custody for five days for interrogation in a case filed on May 31, 2015 on charge of ‘plotting to abduct and kill prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wajed Joy three years ago in the United States.
Three men in plain clothes entered Shafik’s house at about 7:00am claiming to be journalists of a private television channel and picked him up identifying themselves as detectives at about 8:00am, his wife Taleya Rehman said.
After denial of his arrest for hours, the detectives produced Shafik, also British citizen, before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court that remanded him in custody.
‘The allegations brought against Shafik are just imaginary,’ Taleya Rehman said after the court remanded Shafik in custody rejecting his bail plea.
‘Shafik always talks about love and writes against death sentence…He is not a man of hatching conspiracy to kill any person,’ she said.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia demanded immediate release of Shafik, also pro-BNP intellectual.
‘It [Shafik’s arrest] is a sheer exposure of government’s authoritarianism,’ she said in a statement.
Khaleda asked the government to show respect to the freedom of personal liberty, speech and press.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner [media] Maruf Hossain Sorder said that Shafik was arrested as the investigation into the case found evidence of his involvement in the conspiracy hatched in the United States in 2013.
On May 31, 2015, detective inspector Fazlur Rahman filed a general diary with Ramna police station stating that ‘high-ups of BNP and its allies’ hatched a plot for abduction and killing of Sajeeb Wajed Joy.
Fazlur filed the case on August 3, 2015 accusing BNP-backed cultural front Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha vice-president Mohammad Ullah Mamun and unnamed high-ups of BNP and its allies at home and abroad of hatching the conspiracy.
The FIR said Mohammad Ullah Mamun was in the conspiracy as his son Rizvi Ahmed Caesar along with two US citizens including a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent was jailed in the United States for bribery to collect information about a Bangladeshi politician.
DMP deputy commissioner Maruf said, ‘Safik was not named in the first information report, but we found evidence linking Safik to the conspiracy.’
Shafik was the founding editor of Jai Jai Din, a national Bangla daily. He now edits Bangla monthly magazine Mouchake Dhil.
Shafik Rehman was the convener of the international affairs subcommittee of the council preparatory committee for BNP’s national council session held on March 19. He also heads pro-opposition think-tank G-9.
Talyea said that she would meet British high commissioner in Dhaka today as Shafik was a British citizen.
Taleya alleged that the Detective Branch had denied the arrest of Shafik till 10:00am. After the news spread, detectives called her over phone to send his medicine to Detective Branch office in Minto Road.
After waiting at the office gate for over two hours, detectives received the medicines but did not allow Taleya to meet her husband, she said.
Their cook, Ali, alleged that he was punched in the face by the detectives to snatch away a name card passed by Shafik when he was being picked up.
Domestic help Abdul Matin alleged that he was threatened to be shot if he tried to follow their way.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net