DHAKA, May 19, 2025 (BSS) - A case was filed against 15 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated organizations in Manikganj on November 29, 2022, on charges of sabotage and creating panic in the public mind. 

In that case, Masud Parvez, joint convener of the district Jatiyabadi Jubo Dal, and Jasim Uddin alias Akash, a Jatiyabadi Chhatra Dal activist, were arrested that night. In the case, the BNP leaders and activists were accused of carrying out sabotage by exploding crude bombs. 

Referring to the case as a 'ghost' and 'harassing' case, Manikganj District BNP President Afroza Khan Rita said that to thwart a BNP rally in Dhaka on December 10 of 2022, cases were filed in absentia against BNP leaders and activists and many leaders and activists were later arrested in the cases. 

Former General Secretary of Manikganj District BNP and currently a member of the District BNP Convening Committee, SA Jinnah Kabir said that 33 fake and harassing cases were also filed in his name during the previous Awami League regime.

He told BSS that during the Awami League government's tenure, thousands of leaders and activists of the opposition political parties including BNP-Jamaat were forced to desert their houses due to harassment cases.
Thus, thousands of cases were filed against opposition political leaders and activists (BNP-Jamaat) not only in Manikganj but also in different places across the country.

The current interim government has taken initiatives to withdraw all harassment cases filed during the previous Awami League government from January 29, 2009 to August 5, 2024.

An official of the Law-1 branch of the Home Ministry told BSS that a decision has been taken to withdraw 10,506 politically harassment cases across the country so far.

In this regard, the Home Ministry has written to the respective District Magistrates, mentioning the case numbers, and requested the District Public Prosecutor to provide necessary advice.

The Home Ministry official said that the District Magistrate was informed of the government's decision not to proceed with those cases under Section 494 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.

Home Ministry sources said that the Public Security Department of the ministry formed two committees --- district-level and ministry level --- to withdraw the harassment cases filed for political reasons at different times.

The District Magistrate has been made the chairman and Additional District Magistrate as the member secretary and the Superintendent of Police (a Deputy Commissioner of Police for metropolitan areas) and Public Prosecutor (Metropolitan Public Prosecutor for metropolitan area cases) as members of the district level committee.

If the district committee feels that the case has been filed for political or other purposes of harassment, the committee will recommend to the government to withdraw the case. 

The District Magistrate has been asked to send that recommendation, along with the case statement, charge sheet and information as per the specified schedule to the Home Ministry within 45 working days of receiving the application. Apart from this, applications can also be made at the individual level.

Applications are also being taken from the Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry or the Solicitor of the Law Ministry.

However, after scrutinizing those applications, the Home Ministry first prepares a list of the cases to be withdrawn in the form of a resolution in a committee meeting chaired by the Law Adviser and sends it back to the Home Ministry. 

Later, it is sent again from the Home Ministry to the Law Ministry for vetting. After returning from there, a final letter is sent from the Home Ministry to the respective District Magistrate.

The government has already issued a notification regarding the scope and working methods of the district-level committee. 

The notification stated that after receiving recommendations from the district committee, the ministry-level committee will examine them. It will identify the cases to be withdrawn and prepare a list of the cases and take measures to withdraw the cases. 

However, among the cases under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, political harassment cases cannot be withdrawn without a written order of the Commission as per the provisions of Section 10(4) of The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1954, so such cases will have to be identified and a list will be prepared. The action to be taken regarding such cases will be decided later.

The chairman of the ministerial-level committee is Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul and the member secretary is the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Law-1 Branch of the Public Security Division. 

The members are the Senior Secretary of the Public Security Division, Additional Secretary (Law and Order) and Joint Secretary (Law) and a representative of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (not below the level of Joint Secretary).

According to ministry sources, any victim of a political harassment case filed from January 6, 2009 to August 5, 2024 will get this opportunity. 

However, the application form must be accompanied by a certified copy of the relevant case statement and, where applicable, the charge sheet.

In this regard, Faisal Hasan, Public Relations Officer (Director) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, told BSS that this initiative, jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, will continue to be implemented to save innocent people and political leaders and activists from unnecessary harassment.