Bangladesh News

The government yesterday appealed to withdraw the petitions placed earlier for withdrawal of two cases filed against two brothers in connection with possession of 520 bottles of the contraband syrup Phensidyl.

Metropolitan Public Prosecutor (PP) Abdullah Mahmud Hasan submitted two separate petitions on September 7 along with a home ministry letter recommending withdrawal of the cases saying the cases were ‘politically motivated’.

Following news reports on two national dailies yesterday regarding the cases, the government changed its decision and the PP submitted two petitions stating that the letter issued by the home ministry was ‘forged’. Therefore, the government would not withdraw the cases.

Judge Mohammad Aman Ullah of the Fifth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, Dhaka fixed October 10 and November 5 for hearing on the petitions.

The two brothers Mohammad Sobahan and Mohammad Selim lived in South Begunbari slum in the city’s Tejgaon area.

According to the prosecution, a team of Tejgaon police led by its then officer-in-charge (OC) raided Nannu’s shanty at South Begunbari and arrested Sobahan with 280 bottles of Phensidyl on November 11, 1999. Sensing police presence, his brother Selim and two others fled the scene.

Sub-inspector Sirajul Islam filed a case in this connection under the Special Powers Act, 1974 against Sobahan, Selim and the two others with Tejgaon Police Station on the same day.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case pressed charges against the two brothers and dropped names of other two as their involvement with the offence was not proved.

Later, another case was filed against the brothers with the same police station as a team of police on June 30, 2000 raided their shanty and seized 240 bottles of Phensidyl.

The IO pressed charges against the two brothers on July 23 the same year and the court framed charges against them on March 25, 2003. The court recorded statements of three prosecution witnesses.

On August 14 this year, the home ministry in two letters informed the district magistrate of Dhaka that it had decided to withdraw the charges against Sobahan and Selim as the charges were ‘politically motivated’.

The ministry asked the district magistrate to hand over the matter to the metropolitan PP, who would arrange withdrawal of the cases with permission from an appropriate court.