The High Court has granted anticipatory bail to senior Supreme Court attorney ZI Khan Panna in a case involving an alleged murder attempt during the July student movement.
The bench of Justices Syed Enayet Hossain and AKM Asaduzzaman issued the order on Monday.
Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik declared that Panna’s release on bail was contingent upon the submission of the case’s investigation report.
The Khilgaon Police Station filed the case on October 17, listing Panna as the 94th accused.
The charges are related to an incident in July that involved the shooting death of a young man named Ahadul Islam during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. Md. Bakar, Ahadul’s father, filed the lawsuit, claiming that the shooting was a murder attempt.
Along with 176 other notable individuals, the case also involves former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, the director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader.
The case dossier states that on July 19, Ahadul participated in a student demonstration in Khilgaon, Dhaka, close to the Shukkur Ali Garments intersection at Meradia.
“Awami League leaders and activists, BGB, Rapid Action Battalion, and its affiliated organizations, as well as the 14-Party Alliance, attacked with weapons, detonated sound grenades and cocktails, and fired gunshots at that time,” the case states.
The first information report, or FIR, stated that the shooting had the dual purpose of killing protesters and suppressing the nonviolent demonstration. After receiving a shot in his left leg, Ahadul collapsed to the ground. The attackers allegedly continued to beat him before transporting him to a nearby hospital.
Based on the complainant’s claims, we filed the case. Md. Daud Hossain, the head of the Khilgaon Police Station, declared that anyone found not guilty during the investigation would not face any charges.
Panna responded to his involvement in the case by asserting that “influential forces” were responsible for the action, saying, “These cases won’t silence me.” They cannot silence my conscience, even if my lifeless body is lying here. Remember, I fight for freedom.
Ain Salish Kendra, or ASK, a rights organization, has denounced the case against Panna as “unfortunate” and “unwarranted.”
