A Dhaka court on Monday discharged 121 BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists, including BNP executive committee member Habibur Rashid Habib, from a case filed in 2018 related to vandalism and assaulting police.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubul Islam issued the order after defense lawyers filed petitions seeking their discharge from the case. The petitions argued that the accusations were false, fabricated, and aimed at harassing their clients, requesting the court dismiss the charges.
The prosecution, however, opposed the petitions, claiming that preliminary evidence supported the allegations against the accused and urging the court to reject the discharge requests.
After hearing both sides, the magistrate approved the petitions, discharging all 121 individuals from the charges.
According to the case details, members of the BNP-led 20-party alliance had gathered at Segunbagicha in Dhaka’s Ramna area around 12:20 pm on November 31, 2018, ahead of the verdict against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. The gathering allegedly led to disruptions, with some participants vandalizing vehicles and obstructing police officers, resulting in injuries to three officers. Police arrested eight individuals at the scene, while others reportedly fled.
Following the incident, police filed charges against Habib and 98 others at Ramna Model Police Station, later expanding the charges to include a total of 121 individuals on December 17 that year.
