Indian national remanded over suspicious activities in Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Wednesday placed Rabiul Islam, an Indian national, on a four-day remand on suspicion of his involvement in a cognisable offence and suspicious activities.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order after the Detective Branch of police produced him before the court, said State Prosecutor Harun-or-Rashid.

Earlier, DB Sub-Inspector Binoy Kumar Roy sought a seven-day remand for interrogation after showing Rabiul arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

While being taken to the court, Rabiul claimed that he was not involved in any such activities and was engaged in business. 

He told reporters that he had visited Bangladesh many times and had many relatives and friends here. 

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him in the Uttara area on Tuesday.

According to police, Rabiul is an Indian national and had been staying in Bangladesh since 14 September. During preliminary interrogation, he produced an Indian passport as proof of his citizenship.

However, verification of his Indian passport, driving licence and national identity card revealed discrepancies in his date of birth, police said. 

The remand petition said that although Rabiul had visited Bangladesh several times in the past, he could not provide a specific reason for his repeated visits and allegedly gave inconsistent and unclear information at different times.

Police suspected that Rabiul might have been involved in a cognisable offence in Bangladesh and might have links with subversive activities in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country in recent times, the petition said.