Former MP Ashika Sent Back to Three-Day Remand

The order was issued on Monday by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque after hearing a remand petition submitted by the investigating officer. The prosecution had sought a five-day remand, but the court granted three days.

As she was being escorted from the courtroom to prison following the hearing, Ashika Sultana chanted the slogans “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu”. She also questioned the repeated remand orders, saying, “What have I done? What is my offence that I am being taken on remand again and again?”

This is the second remand granted in the same case. She had already spent three days in police custody after being placed on remand last Friday. On Monday, investigators presented her before the court once more, arguing that further interrogation was necessary to advance the investigation.

Defence lawyer Shahab Uddin Raju confirmed the court’s decision and criticised the repeated remand. He argued before the court that subjecting a woman to multiple periods of police custody in the same case amounted to a violation of human rights. Despite those submissions, the court authorised another three-day remand.

Ashika Sultana was arrested late on Thursday night at approximately 11:50 p.m. from the Mirpur-11 area of Dhaka.

According to the case statement, an unauthorised procession involving around 40 to 50 individuals associated with the Awami League and its student wing took place on 19 June near the Bata showroom adjacent to the Apex showroom at Mirpur-1. Police alleged that the group fled after noticing law enforcement officers, leaving behind banners and festoons at the scene.

Investigators later reviewed video footage, which they said showed that the procession had been organised to mark the 77th founding anniversary of the Awami League. Based on the evidence collected during the investigation, police subsequently identified Ashika Sultana as a suspect and arrested her in connection with the incident.

In the remand application, police stated that intelligence obtained from what they described as reliable sources indicated that Ashika Sultana had been involved in organising or supporting the procession. Investigators also claimed that she was a financial supporter of the Awami League.

The investigating officer argued that further questioning was essential to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the procession, identify those who allegedly organised and led it, and locate other suspects who remain at large. Police maintained that additional interrogation of the former lawmaker was necessary to establish the broader network connected to the case and to assist in the ongoing investigation.

The case remains under investigation, and no court has yet determined the allegations against Ashika Sultana. The remand order allows investigators to question her further while the inquiry continues.