A total of 121 leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have been discharged from a case filed over vandalising vehicles and assaulting policemen in 2018.
BNP executive committee member Habibur Rashid Habib was among the 121 leaders and activists.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubul Islam passed the order on Monday after their lawyers submitted petitions for discharging them from the case. In the petitions, the lawyers said that the charges brought against them were false, fabricated and vague. Moreover, their clients were implicated in the case just to harass them. So their discharge petitions should be granted.
The prosecution opposed the petitions saying the charges brought against the accused were primarily proven. So the petitions should be dismissed.
Upon hearing both the sides, the magistrate granted the petitions and discharged them from the charges.
According to the case statement, a group of leaders and activists of the BNP-led 20-party alliance gathered at Segunbagicha in the city ahead of judgment against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case around 12:20pm on November 31 in 2018.
At one stage, they obstructed the general people, vandalised vehicles and prevented policemen from discharging their duties, leaving three policemen injured.
Police then arrested 8 of the BNP-Jamaat men from the spot while the others managed to escape.
Following the incident, police filed a case against BNP leader Habib and 98 others with Ramna Model Police Station.
After an investigation, police pressed charges against Habib and 120 others on December 17 the same year.
