UNB :
The High Court has granted three months’ bail to three men accused of murdering journalist Borhan Uddin Muzakkir amid political infighting in Companiganj, Noakhali.
A bench of Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order on Sunday after hearing separate bail pleas of the defendants.
The three accused – Yousuf Nabi Alias Bahadur, Abdul Amin, and Azizul Haque Manik – have been in jail since March 11.
Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajal presented the defendants’ side at the court, while Deputy Attorney General Dr Md Bashir Ullah stood for the state.
Dr Md Bashir Ullah said they would appeal against the order at the Appellate Division.
On February 19, clashes and gunfights took place between the supporters of Basurhat Municipality Mayor Abdul Quader Mirza and former Companiganj upazila parishad chairman Mizanur Rahman Badal over establishing supremacy.
Both groups used firearms in the clash; law enforcement officials fired several rounds of tear gas and shotguns to control the situation.
Muzakkir, a Noakhali district correspondent of online news portal Barta Bazar and also Companiganj correspondent for The Daily Bangladesh Samachar, was shot during the clash when he was taking pictures and filming the intra-party clash.
The critically injured journalist was rushed to Noakhali General Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries on February 20.
On February 23, Muzakkir’s father Nurul Huda Master filed a case with Companiganj police station accusing unnamed people. Later, the case was transferred to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).
