Journalist Shaukat Mahmood in jail, remand hearing Thursday

Journalist Shaukat Mahmud._11zon

Dhaka, Dec 8 --A Dhaka court on Monday sent senior journalist and former Jatiya Press Club president Shaukat Mahmood to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana passed the order and fixed Thursday for hearing the remand petition.

Earlier in the day, the investigation officer of the case, Inspector Akhtar Morshed of the DB Police’s Ramna Zonal Team, sought a 10-day remand for questioning.

Shaukat was arrested on Sunday in connection with a case filed against Bangladeshi-origin US citizen Enayet Karim Chowdhury over his involvement in a “conspiracy to topple” the interim government.

Sub-Inspector Azizul Hakim of Ramna Police Station filed the case on September 14, a day after Enayet’s arrest from the capital’s Mintoo Road area for suspicious movement in a Land Cruiser Prado SUV.

According to the case statement, Enayet, described as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency, was allegedly involved in a conspiracy to undermine public security and overthrow the interim government.

Shaukat Mahmood, a former BNP vice-chairman expelled from the party on March 21, 2023, recently returned to politics through the Janata Party Bangladesh, formed on April 25 this year. Actor Ilias Kanchan serves as the party’s chairman, while Shaukat was elected its secretary general. - UNB