A local politician belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been remanded in judicial custody by a Cox’s Bazar court in connection with a firearm incident on the grounds of the District Judge’s Court earlier this year.
Liakat Ali, 46, known locally as Liakat Member, surrendered before the Cox’s Bazar Additional Judicial Magistrate Court on Wednesday, 12 August, seeking bail in an arms case arising from the shooting. The presiding judge, Irfanul Haq Chowdhury, rejected the application and ordered officers to transfer him to prison, according to defence counsel Golam Faruk Khan Kaysar.
Liakat, son of Akbar Ali Member, serves as the elected representative for Ward 4 of Jhilongja Union under Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila, alongside his role as general secretary of the union’s BNP unit.
Court Precinct Gunfire and Staged Plot Inquiry
The case stems from a violent disruption on 24 May at around 11:00 am, near the rear entrance of the Cox’s Bazar District Judge’s Court complex. A passer-by named Moinuddin sustained severe gunshot injuries during the chaos.
Bystanders apprehended one suspect, identified as Ziaul, at the scene before police arrived. Officers from the District Detective Branch, Special Branch, and Sadar Police Station launched a immediate sweep, recovering a foreign-made pistol and detaining two individuals.
Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station subsequently registered two separate cases under the Arms Act—one filed by a victim and another by the police against seven named individuals. Sub-Inspector Rafiq, leading the investigation, formally included Liakat as an accused party in the charge sheet after gathering evidence connecting him to the execution of the attack.
Initial reports on the day suggested armed men had opened fire to abduct a key witness in an ongoing murder trial, while alternative claims suggested Liakat had been the intended target. However, social media footage of the shooting fundamentally shifted the direction of the investigation. Analysis of the video indicated that the incident had been orchestrated by Liakat’s own faction. Local sources suggest the staged attempt may have been intended to bolster his formal application for a personal firearm licence.
Law Enforcement Operations and Related Detentions
The detention of the union BNP leader follows sustained operations by security agencies targeting individuals named in the primary charge sheet.
On Sunday, 9 August, a team from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-15) arrested 22-year-old Md Mehedi, listed as the third accused in the case. Operatives executed a targeted morning raid in the South Muhuripara area of Jhilongja Union to apprehend him.
Sheikh Mohammad Ali, Officer-in-Charge of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Police Station, confirmed that four suspects, including Liakat Member, have now been remanded to prison as legal proceedings continue.
