The Appellate Division on Wednesday fixed Sunday (Jan 8) for hearing the petition challenging the High Court order granting bail to BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas in a case filed over the clash between police and the party activists at Nayapaltan on December 7 last year. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Jahangir Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition. The court also said that the two BNP leaders will not be allowed to submit their bail bond before the court during the period. Barrister Ruhul Kuddus, a counsel of the two BNP leaders, said the decision about their bail will be known on Sunday as the full bench of the Appellate Division will hear the petition. Also read: State files petition challenging HC bail to Fakhrul, Abbas Earlier, in the day, a petition was filed with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking stay on the High Court order granting bail to the two BNP leaders in the case. Additional Attorney General SM Munir said the government filed the petition with the Appellate Division bench concerned this morning.Earlier, on Tuesday, the High Court granted six months' bail to BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and its standing committee member Mirza Abbas, in the case. The court also issued a rule asking the government to explain why the two BNP leaders should not be granted permanent bail.On December 21, Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Asaduzzaman rejected the BNP leaders’ bail petitions for the fourth time.On December 9, a team of Detective Branch (DB) of police picked up Fakhrul and Abbas from their homes in separate raids in the capital.Later, they were shown arrested in a case over the clash between police and the party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan. A Dhaka court sent them to jail rejecting their bail pleas.On December 12, a Dhaka court rejected the bail petitions of 224 leaders and activists of BNP, including Fakhrul and Abbas.On December 15, the bail petitions of the two BNP leaders were rejected again.A Dhaka court ordered to give division facility to them on December 9 and then they were given the division facility from December 13.They were accused of instigating, planning, and directing an attack on police.On December 7, a Swechchasebak Dal leader was killed and around 50 others were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office, ahead of its December 10 rally.Police filed four cases at Ramna, Shahjahanpur, Motijheel and Paltan police stations against 720 BNP activists and over 2400 unnamed people in connection with the clash with BNP.Of the BNP men, 450 were accused in the case filed at Nayapaltan police station, 20 in a case filed at Motijheel police station and seven in a case filed at Shahjahanpur police station.

A Dhaka court on Friday sent BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas to jail in a case filed over the clash between police and party activists in the capital’s Nayapaltan on Wednesday. Judge Mohammad Jashim of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court passed the order on Friday. During the proceedings, a group of lawyers including Masud Ahmed Talukder and Omar Faruk Faruki stood for Fakhrul and Abbas, while Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu represented the State. Read more: BNP’s Dec 10 rally finally to be held at Golapbagh ground Earlier, Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Tariqul Islam presented the two political leaders at the court and requested for sending them behind bars. Masud and Omar opposed the prayer, while Abu supported it. After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge rejected the bail plea by defence lawyers and sent the duo to jail, pending further legal procedures. Fakhrul and Abbas were shown arrested in a case filed with Paltan police station over Wednesday’s clash that left one dead and 50 others injured. Both of them were picked up by detectives during the early hours on Friday in separate raids in Dhaka.  “They have been arrested in the case filed under the Explosive Substance Act at Paltan police station on Thursday after questioning,” said Harun Or Rashid, Chief of Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, at a press briefing in the capital on Friday. Read more: Join Dhaka rally spontaneously to reply to govt’s ill-motive, says Khandaker Mosharraf They face charges of instigating, planning and directing an attack on police, crude bomb explosion and destroying public property and lives, he added.  

Stating that load-shedding can lead to the government’s fall, BNP senior leader Mirza Abbas on Monday said people of the country can no longer be fooled by development tablets.  "The government has long been feeding the people of Bangladesh with development tablets.  It can’t talk about development by carrying out load-shedding. So, the development tablets now won’t work anymore,” he said. Abbas was speaking at the council of Ramna and Shabagh thana units of Dhaka South City BNP at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh. Abbas, a BNP standing committee member, said people of Sri Lanka are now vomiting after overeating the development tablets. “They now don’t take the development tablets. After ruining the country in the name of development, their president fled to Singapore." Also read: Saving electricity: Bangladesh to begin daily one-hour staggered load-shedding from Tuesday He said Awami League leaders have also worked out their escape routes in advance. He said the government used to brag that there is no shortage of power as they could reach the electricity to people’s houses through the quick rental power plants. “The government is now making contradictory comments as they’re going to introduce load-shedding from tomorrow (Tuesday). If this is the fact, then why did you set up quick rental by spending so much money?" the BNP leader asked. He also said the owners of quick rental power plants will now get money sitting idle, no matter whether they generate electricity or not. "If people have to endure load-shedding even after so much plundering of public money in the name of quick rental in the power sector, I think it can be the reason for the government's fall as the common people are becoming intolerant,” Abbas observed. He also alleged that the country is now facing a serious crisis of dollars as the ruling party leaders indulged in widespread siphoning off money abroad. Also read: BNP getting ready to oust govt, not to join polls under Hasina: Abbas “It’s now being directed that if you have to import anything from abroad, then you have to take permission from the Bangladesh Bank. It is my liberty to business. I’ll open the LC and import goods by sending dollars. But why has our country no dollars? It’s happened due to siphoning off dollars abroad through the airport,” the BNP leader alleged. Referring to newspaper reports, he said three-four billion dollars from Bangladesh are being deposited regularly in Swiss banks.” If my country's dollar goes to Swiss banks, how will the people of this country live?" Abbas slammed Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal for his comments that contestants in elections should stand with a rifle or a sword if someone comes with a sword. “Only a stupid person can make such a remark,” he said. “Can he (CEC) play the role of a referee? You can't do that either. Our position is clear that BNP won’t go to any election under such a worthless Election Commission" he said. The BNP leader said a credible election is impossible under the Awami League government even if an election commission is hired from abroad as all the institutions, including police and administration, have been politicised.   He said the parliament must be dissolved, the Prime Minister has to quit and an independent Election Commission must be constituted to hold a fair and acceptable election in the country. Abbas warned that they will take to the streets and besiege Bangabhaban or the Secretariat in the days to come to force the government to quit. About the media report that a cargo plane carrying arms for Bangladesh from Serbia crashed in northern Greece, the BNP leader asked the government for whom they procured weapons.