This time, Lt. Col. Afzal Naser has been suspended and remanded in the BNP activist Maqbul murder case.

A court has granted three-day remand to dismissed army lieutenant colonel Md. Afzal Naser in a case filed against him for attacking the BNP central office in the capital's Paltan and killing party worker Maqbul.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Sefatullah issued the order on Sunday.

Afzal Naser was on a six-day remand in a case related to the murder of a man named Delwar Hossain in Mirpur during the July movement. Today, at the end of that remand, he was presented in court and an application was made to show him arrested in the Maqbul murder case and take him on remand.

The investigating officer of the Maqbul murder case, DMP Special Operations Team Sub-Inspector Md. Tofazzel Hossain, applied for a five-day remand to interrogate the accused. The remand application states that this is a political murder case. The accused Afzal Naser (61) has voluntarily cooperated with the previous government in suppressing the opposition while in office. Based on information received from various sources, it has been initially found that he played an important role behind the scenes in this murder.

The application further states that it is necessary to take him on remand to unravel the main mystery of the murder and identify the accused involved. In addition, it is important to interrogate him to ascertain who played what role during the murder, recover illegal weapons, and find out the financial and order-givers of the incident.

A case was filed against Sheikh Hasina and 256 others for the attack on the BNP central office in Paltan in the capital on December 7, 2022 and the killing of a party worker named Maqbul. A person named Mahfuzar Rahman filed the case with Paltan Police Station on September 30, 2024.

According to court sources, the police produced Afzal Naser in court at around 2:40 pm today. Later, he was taken to the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Sefatullah at around 3 pm to be shown arrested in a new case in Paltan and to hear the remand application. After the hearing, he was taken to the court lockup at around 3:45 pm.

During the hearing, state lawyer Omar Farooq Farooqi said that this accused has worked in collaboration with Sheikh Hasina at various times. In the past, leaders of other political parties received treatment at United Hospital, but their anger towards a particular political party is because of Nasher. Information has been received about his involvement in the incident of this case. He needs to be taken on remand for a fair investigation.

Defendant's lawyer Shawkat Ullah said, "He (Nasher) did not join the incident of Madam Khaleda Zia that is being talked about. He was dismissed from his job without any reason. He did not play any role in 1/11 either. Sheikh Hasina dismissed him from his job. He is not involved in these anti-discrimination cases either.’

What Afzal Naser said in court

At one stage of the hearing, Afzal Naser, with the permission of the court, said that he was dismissed from his job without giving any reason. He was summarily dismissed. He never worked for United.

Regarding the medical treatment provided to the late former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the former army officer said, "The ambulance that was not provided to Madam Khaleda Zia is under the control of the United Hospital Emergency Department. I am not an official of the United Hospital. The government can do anything it wants to harm me. Since I am now in the dock. If it is right, give me the right judgment." Afzal Naser, claiming to have been discriminated against, further said, "I don't think anyone else has been discriminated against like me. I have not received a pension. After serving for 26 years, I have not received anything. Why should I work to keep Sheikh Hasina vaccinated? Look at my social media. If you see that I have gone somewhere, give me double punishment. Don't do this." On March 30, the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) arrested him from a house in the capital's Mirpur DOHS.