Ex-Jamaat MP named in attempted murder case; one accused sent to jail

A Dhaka court has ordered the imprisonment of one of the accused in an attempted murder case involving former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam and four others. The court also directed investigators to complete the probe and submit their report by August 24.

A Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Wednesday sent Aminur Rahman, 55, to jail after his arrest in connection with an attempted murder case filed against former Jamaat-e-Islami Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam and four others.

The order was issued by Metropolitan Magistrate Kamal Uddin after police produced Aminur before the court. Investigating Officer SI Rakibul Huda of the Detective Branch's Pallabi Zonal Team sought his detention pending investigation. The court also instructed investigators to submit the probe report by August 24.

According to the prosecution, Aminur Rahman is a cousin of complainant Obaidur Rahman, who worked as the personal driver of Gazi Nazrul Islam.

The case, filed at Pallabi Police Station on Tuesday, names five accused: Gazi Nazrul Islam (74), Aminur Rahman (55), Masum Billah (41), Motassim Billah (25), and Rakibul Hasan (30).

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Obaidur Rahman had been living at his sister's residence in the Rose Garden Tower in the Kalshi area of Pallabi. As the personal driver of Gazi Nazrul Islam, he claimed the former MP frequently visited the apartment. During that time, Nazrul allegedly developed an intimate relationship with Obaidur's niece.

The complainant alleged that after discovering the relationship, he informed his family and requested Nazrul to end it. He claimed the former MP became enraged and threatened to kill him.

The FIR further states that a group based in Maghbazar later obtained private videos allegedly involving Nazrul and the woman and attempted to blackmail him. Nazrul allegedly suspected that Obaidur had secretly recorded and leaked the videos to the media and the blackmailers.

As a result of that suspicion, the complainant alleged that on July 14, acting on Nazrul's instructions, the other accused lured him into a drawing room, assaulted him with sticks, and attempted to strangle him. He claimed Aminur threw him to the floor and tried to choke him to death before his mother and younger sister intervened, prompting the attackers to flee.

Obaidur said he later received treatment at Kurmitola General Hospital and has since gone into hiding after allegedly receiving repeated death threats from the accused.

The case comes amid widespread controversy following the circulation of a video on social media earlier this week showing Gazi Nazrul Islam in intimate moments with a woman. In a social media post, Nazrul claimed the woman was his "second wife" and described the incident as part of a conspiracy against him.

Amid the fallout from the video scandal, Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday expelled Gazi Nazrul Islam from the party after an internal investigation reportedly found evidence of moral misconduct.

-HIS