'Terrorism' charges in Tanguar Haor: 24 Buet students granted bail
Two of the students, who are minors, were sent to a juvenile court awaiting verdict, President of Sunamganj Zilla Bar Association Tayubur Rahman Babul confirmed to The Business Standard.
A wrongful accusation or prompt action?
That is the question on everyone's mind following the arrest of 34, including 24 students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), on charges of engaging in terrorist activities at Tanguar Haor.
Earlier today, Judge Farhan Sadiq of Judicial Magistrate Court-4 in Sunamganj granted bail to 32 of the arrestees over the case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, court sources said.
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On 1 August, a Sunamganj court had sentenced them to jail over the charges after a case was filed on Monday.
Two of the students, who are minors, were sent to a juvenile court awaiting verdict, President of Sunamganj Zilla Bar Association Tayubur Rahman Babul confirmed the matter to The Business Standard.
A police source has claimed that the detained students are affiliated with the politics of the Islami Chhatra Shibir.
According to the police, these students had gathered in the haor area with the intent of holding secret meetings and conspiring against the government. Their alleged objectives included causing public unrest and harm to people's lives.
"Police were tipped off that some students have gathered there to engage in terrorist activities and anti-government plotting. Based on this intelligence, they were detained and interrogated on Sunday, and the subsequent case was filed against them on Monday," said ASP Abu Saeed.
"Police proceeded with legal action, leading to their arrests, after verifying the allegations against them," he told The Business Standard.
Meanwhile, Advocate Abdul Haque, one of the lawyers who represented the students, said, "One of the two minors is a brother of a Buet student. And the other one was brought along by a university student who is his tutor."
Abdul, who is also the general secretary of Sunamganj District Lawyers Association, said the police failed to provide any reasons for their suspicion towards the group.
"They could not provide any reason for the arrests. They could not provide any arguments for the remand of the students. Hence, the students got the bail. Usually that doesn't happen in such cases."
He added that the group was only there for a vacation.
"Tanguar Haor is a tourist spot. Thousands of people visit this place. People regularly come in groups. There was no chance for any sabotaging activities."
Speaking about the alleged leaflets seized from the group, Advocate Abdul said a few students of the group had had downloaded books on Hadiths and Islamic laws regarding on routine religious duties such as prayers.
Citing the accused students, he said, "They had no books with them as the police claimed. Some of the students had downloaded Islamic books containing hadiths and Islamic laws from google. "
He also said the group was not heading towards any island for any 'terrorism activities'.
Syed Iftekhar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Tahirpur police station, told The Business Standard that the police have no comment on the court's decision of granting bail to 32 students including 24 BUET students.
"We respect court orders whatever the decision is," he said.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Sunamganj Additional Superintendent of Police Rajon Kumar Das told the media that they would appeal for remand against the students. However, on Wednesday the police did not ask for remand.
The 24 BUET students who were held are Afif Anwar, Bakhtiar Nafis, Md Saikh, Ismail Ibn Azad, Sabbir Ahmed, Tajimur Rafi, Md Saad Adnan, Md. Shamim Al Razi, Md Abdullah Al Mukit, Md Zaim Sarkar, Haicham bin Mahbub, Mahmudur Hasan, Khalid Ammar, Md. Fahadul Islam, Tanvir Arafat, ATM Abrar Muhtadi, Md Faisal Habib, Anwarullah Siddiqui, Ali Ammar Mouaz, Md Rashed Raihan, Saqib Shahriar, Faiz Us Swaib, Abdur Rafi, and Main Uddin.
The remaining ten individuals who were arrested are Abdul Bari, Md Baki Billah, Mahadi Hasan, TM Tanvir Hossain, Ashraf Ali, Md Mahmud Hasan, Md Ehsanul Haque, Rayan Ahmed, Tanimul Islam, and Md Abdullah Mia.
According to local sources, the 34 students boarded a boat from the wharf of Tahirpur Upazila and departed to visit Tanguar Haor at 7am on Sunday. However, their boat was intercepted by two police speed boats around noon as they were en route to the Takkerghat tourist area through the Patlai River. Subsequently, the boat's drivers Ahadul Miah, Muhaddis Miah, and all 34 students were arrested and taken to the police station.
Parents of the students, however, claim the arrests were wrongful.
Describing the allegations of terrorism as "ridiculous", parents of the students at a press conference at the Shaheed Minar at Buet on Tuesday to demand their release, said the arrests had put their children's education in jeopardy.
The parents said the children had gone on a trip to Sunamganj last Saturday where they met other students of Buet and decided to travel together.
Mentioning that they could not be reached on the phone since Sunday evening, they said some of the students called their parents to ask for their own and the parents' National Identity Card numbers.
That's when the parents found out that their children had been detained and were being taken to Tahirpur police station for questioning.
They further said, they repeatedly called the OC and SP of Sunamganj to enquire about why they were detained but none of them answered the phone.
They also claimed they called the vice chancellor of Buet but he also could not be reached.
Later on Monday afternoon, the parents learned that their children had been arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act through media reports.
