The police yesterday submitted charge sheet against former deputy minister and BNP lawmaker Ruhul Quddus Talukder Dulu and 93 others in a case filed for arson and looting. Officer-in-Charge of Naldanga Police Station Arman Hossain placed two charge sheets--one for illegal gathering, arson and looting while the other for using explosive substances--before the Cognisance Court, Natore. He said primary investigation found that Dulu led the arson in the village Ramshakazipur and Amtali Bazar to avenge his nephew Gama's murder on February 7, 2004. He got it all started by putting a match to the complainant's house. Asaduzzaman, president of Natore unit Jatiya Chhatra Samaj, filed the case on February 25 this year. The investigation of the case, treated as a matter of public interest, was completed in two months.
According to the charge sheets, Dulu's men in his presence set fire to at lest 37 houses and shops at Ramshakazipur village and Amtali Bazar, and looted valuables following the murder of Sabbir Ahmed Gama. They also blasted bombs and fired gunshots to create panic.
This is the first charge sheet against the former BNP lawmaker under the Emergency Power Rules. The other accused include Dulu's two bothers, three cousins, three nephews and one of his in-laws, and local leaders of BNP's student and youth wings. Police filed another case against Dulu for patronising the vigilante groups of the militant outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB). JMJB action in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Natore started after the outlaws popularly known as Sarbahara killed four relatives and friends of Dulu.