Govt opposes bail for criminals, not AL or BCL members: Home adviser

Home and Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday said the government is opposed to granting bail to criminals, not to members of the Awami League or its student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League.

He made the remarks while responding to journalists’ questions during a briefing on overall agricultural issues at the agriculture ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat.

After presenting information on increased production of various crops, journalists raised questions about a widely circulated incident on social media involving Jewel Hasan Saddam, president of Bagerhat Sadar Upazila Chhatra League, who was reportedly denied parole following the deaths of his wife and nine-month-old child.

However, the adviser declined to respond to questions unrelated to agriculture.

When asked specifically about Saddam’s parole, Jahangir said, “No, I will not answer anything other than agriculture.”

When a journalist pointed out that he also holds the portfolio of home affairs, the adviser replied, “No, I will call [a briefing] for home affairs separately.”

When another journalist said, “You are accountable,” he responded, “No, I am not accountable today. I have called this briefing for agriculture. I will not speak on anything other than agriculture. You should ask questions on agriculture, because you do not talk about farmers’ problems. These are the issues.”

As journalists drew his attention to the public uproar over the issue of denying bail to members of BCL or AL, the adviser said, “It is not about Awami League or Chhatra League. The government is against granting bail to criminals.”