Former speaker Shirin gets bail in July attempted murder case

A Dhaka court has granted bail to former speaker Shirin
Sharmin Chaudhury in a case filed over a murder attempt during the July
Uprising in the capital's Lalbagh area.
The order was issued this afternoon
following a hearing by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md
Zakir Hossain in Dhaka.
Defence lawyer ABM Hamidul Misbah
said the court granted the former speaker bail on a bond of Tk50,000.
The case accuses her in connection with the attempted murder of Ashraful, also
known as Fahin, under Lalbagh Police Station's jurisdiction.
In court, Shirin Sharmin's defence
lawyers argued that there are no specific allegations against the accused. They
told the court that the accused is seriously ill and "close to
death," suffering from heart disease, having already suffered one heart
attack.
They said she also has poor
eyesight, high blood pressure and diabetes. They added that her life would be
at risk if bail is not granted on medical grounds, stating that she faces no
other cases besides this one.
They appealed for bail on the
grounds of her being a woman and her deteriorating health.
Opposing the bail application, Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi argued that the
accused was a close associate of fascist Sheikh Hasina. He said the case in
which she has been arrested is still under investigation and that older accused
individuals have been held in prison in the last 16 months with adequate
medical care.
He stressed that it is not a corruption or embezzlement case but an
attempted murder case linked to the July Uprising, seeking rejection of the bail
application in the interest of the investigation.
After hearing both sides, the court
granted the accused bail on a bond of Tk50,000 until the submission of the
police report.
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was
arrested in Dhanmondi of the capital in the early hours of 7 April in the case
filed at Lalbagh Police Station over the attempted murder of Ashraful.
She was detained between 04:30am
and 04:50am at her relative's residence on Dhanmondi 8/A and was taken to the
Detective Branch (DB) office in Minto Road, DB Joint Commissioner Nasirul Islam
told The Business Standard.
The case allegations note that the
quota reform movement gained momentum on 18 July 2024. To suppress this student
movement, the then Awami League government, along with the named and unnamed accused,
allegedly opened fire on unarmed students with domestic and foreign firearms in
Azimpur Government Colony under Lalbagh Police Station.
Ashraful, the plaintiff, was shot
in his left eye (retina), head and other parts of the body during the protest,
losing vision in his left eye, according to the case documents.
He was treated initially at Dhaka
Medical College Hospital, later operated on at the National Institute of
Cardiovascular Diseases and referred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology
and Hospital.
Several others were also reportedly
injured or killed in the incident.
Sources concerned said six
cases have been found against her so far.
On 25 May last year, Ashraful filed
a case against 130 people including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Detectives arrested Shirin Sharmin
early today at a residence in Dhanmondi and brought her to the DB office for
preliminary interrogation.
Shirin Sharmin resigned from the
post of Speaker on 2 September 2024, 27 days after the fall of the Awami League
government. She had served as speaker since 30 April 2013.
















