Dhaka:A Dhaka court on Thursday ordered the detention of The Daily Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury in connection with a murder case related to the July 2024 mass uprising.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana issued the detention order after Sub-inspector Amir Hossain of Jatrabari Police Station, the investigating officer, presented Chowdhury in court with a request to keep him in custody.
Earlier, on Wednesday, detectives apprehended Iqbal Sobhan, who is also the former chairman of DBC News and a past information adviser to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from the private TV channel's office in Mohakhali. DBC News Special Correspondent Rajib Ghosh was also taken into custody for questioning following an incident at the office but was later released on bond.
Iqbal Sobhan was subsequently charged in the murder case of Madrasah student Arif, filed at Jatrabari Police Station. The case statement alleges that on July 19, 2024, police and members of the now-banned Awami League opened fire on protesters in Kutubkhali, Jatrabari, resulting in Arif, a first-year student at Lord Harding Fazil Madrasah, sustaining fatal bullet wounds. Arif was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The victim's father, Yusuf, lodged a murder complaint against 233 individuals, including the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on August 25, 2024, with Iqbal Sobhan listed as the 53rd accused in the case.