BNP lawmaker finally appears in court

Pintu's counsel advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder submitted a time petition before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), Dhaka at 10:00am. He told the court that Pintu could not appear before, as he was busy with legislative functions.

But Magistrate Sirajul Haider rejected the petition and asked the lawyer to produce his client before court by 2:00pm.

The lawmaker at 2:00pm went to the court, which set January 4, 2004 for his next appearance.

The court on February 25, 2002 served a show cause notice on Pintu's guarantors to explain why Pintu was not present in the court without submission of any documents before it.

The court directed the guarantors twice to assure it of Pintu's appearance, but Pintu still skipped court. Finally, on September 29, it ordered Pintu's counsel to produce him yesterday.

Pintu was arrested on December 26, 2001 on charge of attempted snatching of auction documents of a bankrupt company's property on December 23 the same year. Later, he was given one month's detention under the Special Powers Act.

The Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Pintu following a case filed against him with Motijheel Police Station.

Advocate Jahangir Alam Khan filed the case alleging that Pintu and his accomplices tried to grab bidding documents.

Later, the court set Pintu free on bail on January 24 last year upon a bond of Tk 10,000 with two guarantors.