A Dhaka court on Friday placed a suspended army officer, ex-Major General Ziaul Ahsan, on an eight-day remand for questioning in connection with the death of a shop employee during the July 16 quota reform protests in the capital's New Market area.
The remand order was issued by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arfatul Rakib after New Market Police Station Sub-Inspector Sajib Mia, the investigation officer, presented Ziaul in court, seeking a 10-day remand. The defense team, in turn, requested bail and opposed the remand appeal.
Significant security measures were in place on the court premises, with the deployment of personnel from the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police centring the appearance pf Ziaul Ahsan.
Ziaul Ahsan, formerly the Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), was arrested from Khilkhet area in the capital city of Dhaka.
His arrest followed his suspension from the army on August 6 and a dramatic detention at midnight when the plane he was on was brought back to the boarding bridge from the Dhaka airport runway.
Earlier in the week, Salman F Rahman, adviser to the former prime minister on private industry affairs, and former law minister Anisul Huq were also placed on a 10-day remand in the same case after being arrested in Dhaka's Sadarghat.
The murder case, filed by Ayesha Begum, the victim's mother, on July 17, alleges that her son, Shahjahan Ali, 24, was critically injured during the protests and later succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Earlier on Tuesday (6 August), the Bangladesh Army made a major reshuffle in its top posts with Major General Ziaul Ahsan, popularly known as Major Zia, being relieved from service and some others being reassigned, an ISPR press statement said.
'I was picked up on 7 Aug, kept at Aynaghor for 8 days': Zia tells court
Meanwhile, the Ziaul Ahsan claimed that he was picked up on August 7 and was held at the Aynaghor, countering police reports of arresting him last night from Khilkhet.
"A team of DGFI picked me up from my house on August 7. I was kept at the Aynaghor for the last eight days. I am not involved with any murder, enforced disappearance," the former director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) told Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arfatul Rakib during the hearing of a remand plea against him.
He said, "Ask anyone who has been freed from the Aynaghor to say that I held them there. The way I am being blamed is not right. I am unwell. I am suffering from many complications, including in my heart.
In its remand application, the police claimed that Gen Zia had confessed to Bangladesh buying Israeli spyware Pegasus, developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group that is designed to be covertly and remotely installed on mobile phones running iOS and Android
However, in the court, he gave a different statement.
"There is nothing called Pegasus. I did not track any phones," he told the court when asked about the Israeli spyware.
At that time, pro-BNP lawyers at the court opposed his statement, alleging that he was complicit in genocide and that he had no right to speak. But Gen Zia's sister Advocate Nazneen Nahar objected to their object.
Gen Zia also pointed out that no cases were filed against him while he was with the RAB.
