Paltan killing case against AL leaders to be dropped

The metropolitan public prosecutor (MPP) yesterday recommended scrapping of the Paltan killing case against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Home Minister Sahara Khatun, AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil, and 37 others. The other accused in the case include Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haque Inu, State Minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanok, former home minister Mohammad Nasim, and former AL lawmakers Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya, HBM Iqbal, and Haji Mohammad Selim. In defence of his recommendations, MPP Abdullah Abu said the case filed by Jamaat-e-Islami on October 28, 2006 was based on a false and imaginary incident, a source said quoting from the MPP's opinion. "The persons who were made accused in the case had no reason to go to the place of occurrence that day. The case was filed at a time when the people of the country were demonstrating against the misrule and corruption of BNP-Jamaat-led alliance government," the MPP said in his opinion. He sent the opinion to the Dhaka district magistrate, who will forward it to the home ministry for taking necessary steps. Just before the immediate past four-party alliance government handed over power to the successive caretaker government, seven people were killed in a fierce clash between activists of AL-led 14 party coalition and Jamaat-e-Islami. On October 28, 2006, Jamaat and Workers Party filed two separate cases with Paltan police station in connection with killings of their activists. Workers Party in its case accused Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, and seven others. The case against AL-led alliance leaders is now under further investigation while the case against Jamaat is on trial.The Jamaat leaders also filed petitions with the Dhaka district magistrate for scrapping of the case against them. On receiving the petition from the district magistrate, the MPP will scrutinise it to give his opinion. The MPP earlier recommended scrapping of 11 other cases against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On receiving the recommendations from the MPP, the district magistrate will forward those to the home ministry, and the ministry will submit those to a high-powered committee led by the law minister for review. After the review, the MPP will file petitions with the courts concerned seeking permission to throw away the cases.