A court here on Tuesday sent sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddique to jail in a case filed for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims through his disparaging remarks on Islam and Tablig Jamaat. Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqur Rahman passed the order when police produced him before his court in the afternoon following his surrender to Dhanmondi Police Station. On October 1, Advocate ANM Abed Raja, former president of Dhaka Metropolitan Bar Association, filed the case against Latif Siddique with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate 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. The former Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister turned up to the Dhanmondi Police Station around 1:30pm, two days after he returned home braving several court warrants pending for his arrest. Later, he was taken to the Chief Metropolitan Court of Dhaka. Latif Siddique returned home from Kolkata on Sunday night, nearly two months after his disparaging remarks on Islam in the USA. A number of courts across the country, including ones in Dhaka, Chittagong and Narail, issued warrants for the arrest of Abdul Latif in separate cases filed for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims with his derogatory comments. He also faces dozens of cases filed against him for his disparaging remarks. At a views-exchange meeting with expatriates from Tangail in New York on September 28, Latif Siddique made disparaging remarks about hajj, one of the main pillars of Islam, and Tablig Jamaat. He had said: “During hajj, too much of manpower is wasted. Over 20 lakh people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj. They’ve no work, no production and they only cause deduction.” “Some 20 lakh Tablig Jamaat people get together annually who don’t do any work except halting traffic movement across the country,” he added. His remarks triggered widespread criticisms both at home and abroad. Latif Siddique was dropped from the cabinet and expelled from Awami League for his derogatory comments. — UNB, Dhaka.
