Badda mob beating: Renu murder accused gets bail

The High Court has granted ad-interim bail to Md Raju, an accused of a case filed over the murder of Taslima Begum Renu in a mob beating in Dhaka's Badda area in July last year.

A virtual HC bench of Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Badruzzaman granted bail to accused Raju till reopening of regular functions of this bench and also issued a rule asking the state to explain why he (Raju) should not be granted regular bail in this case.

The bench passed the order of bail on Monday following a petition filed by Raju through his lawyer Shofiqul Alam Mahmood.

Talking to The Daily Star today, Deputy Attorney General Dr Md Bashir Ullah said the HC bench granted bail to Md Raju as he did not make any confessional statement to the magistrate concerned.

The government is taking preparation to move an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the HC order of bail, he said, adding that Raju is now in jail in the case.

A total five accused, including Raju, have so far obtained bail in the Renu murder case from HC, DAG Bashir Ullah also said, adding that earlier four other accused secured bail from other HC benches in the case.

On July 20, last year, Renu, 40, a single mother of two was beaten to death around 8:30am when she went to Uttar Badda Government Primary School to ask about the admission process, according to police.

Later, her nephew Nasir Uddin Tito filed a case against 400 or 500 unknown people with Badda Police Station. Locals told police that some thought she was a kidnapper and attacked her. Mobs beat to death four more people on suspicion of being child kidnappers in different incidents on the same day.