Renowned folk singer and former Manikganj-2 MP Momtaz Begum has been sent to jail following the completion of a four-day police remand in connection with the murder of hawker Md Sagar during the July Uprising in Dhaka’s Mirpur area.
On Saturday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minhazur Rahman rejected Momtaz`s bail petition and ordered her to be taken into custody.
She had been arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on May 12 in Dhanmondi. The next day, the court granted four days of remand for interrogation.
After the remand ended, police produced Momtaz in court and sought her detention.
Her lawyer, Masudur Rahman, submitted a bail petition, which was opposed by the state prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi. The court denied the plea and sent her to jail.
According to the case statement, hawker Sagar participated in the July 19 protest at Mirpur-10.
Protesters allegedly came under attack that day, and Sagar was shot in the chest. His body was later found by his mother, Beauty Akhtar, at a private hospital.
She filed a case on November 17 at Mirpur Model Police Station, naming 243 individuals including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and suspecting 250-400 unknown others. Momtaz is listed as suspect No. 49.
A three-time MP, Momtaz first joined parliament in 2008 through a reserved seat for women and later won twice more as an Awami League candidate.
However, she lost in the recent 12th national election and now faces multiple cases linked to post-government-change unrest.
