Court orders five-day Police custody for Ex-Minister in Maktub murder investigation

A court has ordered former Housing and Public Works Minister R.A.M. Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury to be held for five days as police investigate the murder of a BNP worker named Maktub.

The decision was made by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mehera Mahbub in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.

Police arrested Chowdhury late Thursday night in the Shewrapara area of Mirpur.

They brought him to court on Friday, asking for a 10-day period to question him about his involvement in the murder.

Police said they had evidence linking him to the case and needed to gather more information to catch other suspects.

Chowdhury‍‍`s lawyer opposed the remand and requested bail instead.

After listening to both sides, the court allowed the police to hold him for five days to continue their investigation.

The murder case goes back to December 7, 2022, when a violent incident at the BNP‍‍`s central office led to Maktub‍‍`s death.

On September 30, a case was filed against Sheikh Hasina and 256 others, with Chowdhury being one of the accused.

According to the allegations, many BNP leaders and supporters gathered in Dhaka for a protest on December 10.

On December 7, a police team entered the BNP office and reportedly looted items, including furniture, computers, and money, totaling about 4.7 million taka.

They also attacked the BNP leaders and supporters present, resulting in Maktub‍‍`s murder.

R.A.M. Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury is a former Member of Parliament for Brahmanbaria-3 and has been in hiding since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5.

He faces multiple legal issues, including at least nine cases in Brahmanbaria, six of which are for murder.