Journalist Shaukat Mahmood on 5-day remand

A court in Dhaka has placed Jatiya Press Club’s former President Shaukat Mahmood on a five-day remand in a case filed with the Ramna police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Fahmida Khandaker Anna passed the order after a hearing on Thursday, December 11.

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested journalist Shaukat Mahmood, also the president of Janata Party, in the capital’s Malibagh area on Sunday, December 7.

Enayet Karim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-origin US citizen, and four others were also apprehended in the case.

In the remand plea, investigation officer and DB inspector Akhtar Morshed said Shaukat Mahmood, in collusion with Enayet Karim, created panic among people to endanger Bangladesh’s integrity, harmony, public security, and sovereignty. 

He secretly met with various political party leaders and businesses aiming to topple the current government, and evidences suggest he was involved in efforts to oust the government, the DB official said.

MDAA/MSU