Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

The High Court today deferred till November 22 its verdict on three petitions filed by BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir seeking bail in three arson and vandalism cases.

The HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Khasruzzaman set the date after holding hearing on the rules over granting bail to the BNP leader.

Following the bail petitions filed by Fakhrul, the same HC bench on June 21 granted ad interim bail to him and issued three rules on the government to explain as to why he will not get regular bail in the cases.

On November 2, the Supreme Court ordered Fakhrul to surrender before a lower court and asked the HC to hear and dispose of the rules in two weeks.

On the following day, he surrendered to a Dhaka court, which sent him to jail in the cases filed with Paltan Police Station for January 4, 5 and 6 this year.

Of the three cases, the first one accuses Fakhrul and 28 others of vandalising and torching a bus at Gulistan on January 4.

The second case alleged that Fakhrul and 49 other BNP leaders and activists brought out a procession and later set fire to a motorbike of a policeman at Fakirapool on January 5.

According to the third case statement, a BRTC bus was torched near Bangabandhu National Stadium in Paltan on January 6 by a group of BNP leaders and activists, including Fakhrul.

Except the three cases, Fakhrul, who stands accused in 89 cases, has got bail from the HC and lower courts in other cases.

The BNP leader was first sent to jail on May 16, 2012, after his surrender before another Dhaka court in connection with a case filed for torching a vehicle in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on April 29 that year.