Babul Akhtar sent to jail after remand

Former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akhtar has been sent to jail following one-day remand in a case filed by chief of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Banaj Kumar Majumder.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mamunur Rashid ordered police to send Babul to jail.

Sub-Inspector Shariful Islam, general registration officer of Dhanmondi Police Station, confirmed the information on Saturday (November 12) morning.

Earlier on Friday, Inspector (Operation) of Dhanmondi Model Thana, Rabiul Islam, also investigation officer of the case, produced before the court on completion of one-day remand with an appeal of keeping Babul confined in the jail.

Former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akhtar was placed on one-day remand in a case filed by chief of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Banaj Kumar Majumder. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arafatul Rakib passed the remand order on Thursday (November 10).

Earlier, police submitted a seven-day remand prayer for interrogating former Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akhtar in the case filed by PBI chief Banaj Kumar Majumder.

Inspector of Dhanmondi Model Thana, Rabiul Islam, also investigation officer of the case, filed the remand plea including a petition for showing Babul Akhtar arrested in the case.

On September 27, PBI Chief Banaj Kumar Majumdar filed the case accusing four people including Babul Akhter on charge for making ongoing investigation on Mitu murder questionable, spreading false information and throwing abusive words.

Banaj Kumar, also an additional inspector general of police, lodged the case with Dhanmondi police station.

The other accused in the case are US expatriate and Youtuber Elias Hossain, Babul’s father Md Abdul Wadud Mia and brother Md Habibur Rahman Labu.

Of them, Elias was made the prime accused in the case.

In the case, the plaintiff alleged that all the accused intentionally spread false information to make objectionable the ongoing investigation of Mahmuda Khatun Mitu murder case through social platforms including Youtube.

Besides, Elias from the US spread misleading information to spoil communal harmony of the country and tarnish the image of PBI, the statement said.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified assailants gunned down Babul’s wife Mitu at the port city’s GEC intersection while she was going to drop her son Mahir Akhter, 7, for a bus of Chittagong Cantonment Public School and College.

Soon after the incident, Babul filed a murder case with Panchlaish Police Station against three unidentified men.

The case was transferred to the Police Bureau Investigation (PBI) in 2019 after Mitu’s father, himself a retired police officer, filed a complaint against the CMP’s mishandling of the case.

On May 12, 2021, the PBI submitted its final report and arrested Babul Akhter in another case filed by Mitu’s father and since then he has been in prison.

Babul Akhter filed a no-confidence motion against the PBI report on October 14, 2021.

On November 3 last year, a Chittagong Court rejected the final report of PBI in the murder case and ordered it to conduct further investigation. 

PBI in an investigation found Babul’s involvement in his wife’s murder. 

On September 25 this year, a Chittagong court rejected a plea filed by Babul seeking its permission to file a case against six officials of Police Bureau of Investigations (PBI) including its chief Banaj Kumar Majumdar for torturing him in police custody.

The court also rejected two separate petitions for recording statement under Section 200 bringing Babul Akhter to the court and seeking security in Feni prison cell.