HC releases full text of Minni’s bail verdict

The High Court (HC) today released the full text of its judgement that granted bail to Ayesha Siddika Minni in her husband Rifat Sharif murder case.

The release of the verdict has cleared the way for the authorities concerned to take necessary steps for releasing Minni from Barguna jail.

“We will take necessary steps so that the certified copy of the HC verdict reaches to the Barguna court concerned and Minni is released from the jail,” Minni’s lawyer ZI Khan Panna and Advocate Makkia Fatima Islam told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star his office will move an appeal on behalf of the government before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the HC verdict that granted bail to Minni.

On August 29, Minni was granted bail by the HC on conditions that she will remain in her father’s custody and that she cannot talk to media.

If Minni breaches the conditions, her bail will be cancelled, the court said.

The court granted the bail on different grounds. Those include Minni is a woman; her name was not included in the First Information Report; she was kept detained for a long time at the Police Lines (in Barguna) before her arrest; there was no lawyer for her when she was produced before a magistrate following her arrest; the SP gave a statement to the media before she gave her confessional statement; the investigation of the case was at the final stage and there is no scope for influencing the investigation.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman delivered the verdict after hearing a petition filed by Minni seeking bail in the case.

While delivering the verdict, the court also criticised the superintendent of police in Barguna for making a statement to the media that Minni while on police remand confessed to her involvement in the murder of her husband Rifat Sharif.

The court said, “Superintendent of Police in Barguna Maruf Hossain appeared before the media while Ayesha Siddika Minni was on remand. His statement that Minni confessed to her guilt was not only uncalled for but also was contradictory to the ethical practices and fair and impartial investigation.

“Whatever was the situation, such a statement from a responsible officer like the superintendent of police has created different questions on the people’s mind. On one side his statement has created questions on the people’s mind and on other it has put his responsibility and professionalism into question, which is regretting and disappointing,” the HC bench said.

WHAT DID BARGUNA SP SAY?

Talking to a press conference in his office on July 18, Barguna SP Maruf Hossain said they arrested Minni as they found her link with the murder.

The Barguna SP said this even before Minni gave statement before a magistrate.

HOW WAS RIFAT MURDERED? 

Rifat Sharif, 25, an internet service provider, was hacked to death in broad daylight in front of Minni’s college in Barguna town on June 26.

In the CCTV footage of the incident, Minni was seen screaming and trying to save her husband from the attackers.

Rifat’s father filed the murder case with Barguna Sadar Police Station against 12 people on the day of the incident. The prime accused in the case, Nayan Bond, was killed in a “gunfight” with police on July 2.

Police arrested Minni after a daylong interrogation on July 16. A court placed her on a five-day remand the following day. Three days later, a Barguna court recorded her statement.