Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury sent to jail 

A Dhaka court on Thursday ordered The Daily Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, a former media adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and chairman of private television channel DBC News, to be sent to jail in a murder case filed over the killing of madrasa student Arif during the July Uprising in Jatrabari, Dhaka.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque passed the order on November 5 after hearing an application by the investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Amir Hossain of Jatrabari Police Station, seeking to remand Chowdhury to judicial custody.

Chowdhury was produced before the court around 3:50pm. The hearing began shortly afterwards.

During the hearing, defence lawyers, including Chowdhury Mohammad Galib Rakib, sought proper medical treatment for the accused in jail, citing his age. 

They also argued that Chowdhury had enjoyed the status of a minister while serving as information adviser and should, therefore, be entitled to corresponding facilities under the jail code.

Opposing the defence plea, Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi supported the investigation officer's application and levelled several allegations against Chowdhury.

He claimed that Chowdhury had been rewarded for his support with the position of media adviser and a senior role at DBC News. 

The prosecutor also accused him of using his influence to amass substantial property in Dhaka's Gulshan and Banani areas.

Regarding the defence's request for special medical care and other jail facilities, Faruqi said Chowdhury should receive only the benefits to which he was legally entitled under the jail code.

After hearing both sides, the magistrate observed that the accused would be entitled to facilities commensurate with his social status.

Earlier, police detained Chowdhury from the DBC News office in the capital's Mohakhali area on Wednesday afternoon.

The channel's Chief Crime Reporter Rajib Ghosh was also taken into custody during the operation.

Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Public Relations Division Akhtar Hossain said an "undesirable situation" had arisen at DBC over the broadcast of a news report. Chowdhury and Ghosh were subsequently taken into the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

However, the police official did not elaborate on the nature of the incident.

Later that night, police showed Chowdhury arrested in the murder case over the killing of madrasa student Arif. DB chief Shafiqul Islam said Ghosh, who had also been detained by detectives, would be released after signing a bond.

According to the case statement, Arif, a first-year Alim student at Lord Hardinge Fazil Madrasa, was shot in the eye during an exchange of fire between police and Awami League leaders and activists on Boubazar Road in the Kutubkhali area of Jatrabari on the afternoon of July 19, 2024, during the July Uprising.

He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Following the incident, Arif's father, Yusuf, filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station on August 25, 2024, accusing Sheikh Hasina and 232 others.

Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury is listed as accused No. 53 in the case.

The allegations made by the prosecution remain subject to investigation and judicial determination. Chowdhury's inclusion in the case does not establish his guilt.