Staff Reporter :A Dhaka court on Tuesday sent sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui to jail on surrender before a police station in a case filed against him for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims.Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqur Rahman passed the order when police produced him before his court around 2:30pm following his surrender to Dhanmondi Police Station, Earlier, Siddiqui surrendered at Dhanmondi Model Police Station around 1:30pm, two days after he returned home on Sunday night.Siddiqui told the magistrate that he did not appoint a lawyer to defend him.On October 1, Advocate ANM Abed Raja, former president of Dhaka Metropolitan Bar Association, filed the case against Siddiqui with Chief Metropolitan Court.On October 28, the same court issued a warrant for the arrest of the former minister as he did not turn up in compliance with its order. After a short hearing of the case filed by lawyer Abed Raza over hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims, the magistrate ordered police to lock up Siddiqui in jail. Lawyer Abed Raza claimed Siddiqui hurt the religious sentiment of all Muslims in the world and demanded his exemplary punishment while talking to reporters after the order. Siddiqui had 22 cases against him filed in 18 districts for offending religious sentiments. There were multiple arrest warrants against him.After the court ruling, the former minister was taken to Dhaka Central Jail through the big gate after 10 minutes or he refused to pass through the smaller gate.The removed Awami League leader returned to the country on Sunday night after staying nearly one and a half months in India. However, he had left the airport after sometime for unknown destination and since then he remained traceless till his surrender to the police on Tuesday.Latif’s imprisonment came two months after he publicly criticized Tablig and Hajj at a programme in New York on September 28.Following the remarks, he was sacked from the Cabinet on October 12. Later his presidium and primary membership in the ruling Awami League was also cancelled.Majority of the protests over Siddiqui’s comments came from the Hefajet-e Islam and other Islamist quarters. They had also issued a hartal threat for Thursday if the government failed to arrest him by Wednesday. However, the day-long hartal call has been withdrawn following the arrest of Latif Siddiqui.
