Durrani gets bail

Magistrate Nani Gopal Biswas granted the bail on Wednesday upon a bond of Tk 10,000 with two guarantors.

The bail was granted as the accused is an old man and a life member of the National Press Club, the court said.

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Durrani along with his lawyer Syed Shah Alam appeared before the court and prayed for bail. The prosecution opposed the petition for bail.

After hearing both the sides, the court granted the bail petition.

Kamrangirchar police filed the case against Durrani on November 9 on charge of filing a false case against three young men.

Durrani filed the case against Ripon and his friends -- Omar Faruq and Wahid alias Murad -- under the Speedy Trial Act on October 30 accusing them of extorting money from him and vandalising his house at Rasulpur in Kamrangirchar.

But the case proved false, fabricated and concocted during the investigation by Kamrangirchar police who submitted a final report of the case.

The court also issued an order to release Faruq and Murad from the jail.

On October 30, Durrani, his brother Idris, and staff reporter of Nowroj Kamal Chowdhury along with some locals beat up Ripon and handed over his friends -- Faruq and Murad -- to police branding them as extortionists.

Critically injured Ripon was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where he died on November 1.

The victim's relatives said Durrani first beat Ripon's nephew when his bicycle hit Durrani on Kamrangirchar embankment. Hearing the news, Ripon and his two friends went to the spot immediately.

Following an altercation with the three, Durrani called his brother Idris and some others from nearby area and started beating Ripon and his friends, they said.

Meanwhile, a division bench of the High Court on November 17 directed Durrani, an accused in the Ripon murder case, to surrender before the District and Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka within December 7 when he appeared before it for anticipatory bail.

The court also directed police not to arrest or harass him during the period.

Three witnesses -- Murad, Omar Faruk and Tipu -- gave judicial statements to the metropolitan magistrate yesterday.