By Sumi Khan

Dhaka, Apr 19 (IANS): A Dhaka court on Monday placed radical outfit Hefazat-e-Islam's joint secretary general Mamunul Haque on seven-day remand in a case filed last year at the Mohammadpur police station.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate, Debdash Chandra Adhikary, passed the order after the sub-inspector of the police station, Md Sajedul Haque, submitted the remand prayer before the court.

The police said the militant top leader and the preacher will be interrogated at the DB office on security grounds and for the source of his huge expenses.

A joint team of the Tejgaon division police and the DMP's detective branch had arrested Mamunul from Jamia Rahmania Arabia Madrasa in Mohammadpur on Saturday afternoon.

In November 2020, Mamunul had called for the government to remove the upcoming statue of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, claiming that statues were prohibited to Islam. Later, he had clarified that he 'did not mean to disrespect' the Bangabandhu.

Mamunul and his Hefazat colleagues had led a series of protests against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh on March 26-27, leading to violence that claimed several lifes.

Following Mamunul's arrest, the Deputy Police Commissioner of Tejgaon zone, Harun-or-Rashid, said that Mamunul and other Hefazat leaders have been accused in several cases, including planned attacks on police stations, which are being investigated.

Rashid said that Mamunul is being monitored for quite some time and the investigation into the 2020 case of vahndalism and violence is going on.

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As many as 17 cases have been filed against Mamunul and other cohorts of the radical outfit in connection with the violence in the Baitul Mukarram area in Dhaka during Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Bangladesh.

Mamunul is one of the 17 people accused in the case, filed with the Paltan police station.

The plaintiff, GM Alamgir Shahin, had alleged that Mamunul had spread hate speech and had himself carried out the attack when the mosque authorities were holding a sermon on March 6, 2020, which also hurt religious sentiments.

Rashid told IANS, "Mamunul was arrested after the investigators found clear evidence of his involvement in the incident."

Mamunul is known for spreading hate speech and aggressive sermons in religious congregations and on social media.

Earlier, Mamunul was arrested in a case filed on March 7 last year over vandalism by the activists of the Qawmi madrasa-based militant outfit in the capital's Mohammadpur area.

The case against Mamunul and seven other named and some 70-80 unnamed persons, accusing them of attempt to murder and vandalism during an attack at a local mosque, and also for threatening the mosque authorities.

From the court, Mamunul was taken to the DB office on Mintoo Road of the capital for questioning.