Saber Hossain Chowdhury secures bail in 6 cases, waiting for release

Former environment, forest and climate change minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury has secured bail in six cases, including a murder case, by the court just a day after being remanded.

His lawyer said there were no other pending cases against him, clearing the way for his release, reports bdnews24.com.

On Tuesday, two Dhaka metropolitan magistrates granted him bail after hearing six cases.

The previous day, police obtained a five-day remand for Saber, a former MP of Dhaka-9 constituency, in the BNP activist Md Mokbul murder case.

He was also shown arrested in two other murder cases and two attempted murder cases filed at Khilgaon Police Station.

While being taken to court custody after the hearing that day, Saber was attacked by a group who broke through police security.

Due to his physical condition, the former minister was not questioned and was instead presented before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka on Tuesday.

His lawyer Morshed Hossain Shaheen sought bail in four cases under the Khilgaon Police Station.

On behalf of the state, senior BNP lawyer Omar Faruk Faruqi opposed the bail petition.

After hearing both sides, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan granted interim bail.

Meanwhile, in the Mokbul murder case, filed on Dec 7, 2022, Paltan Model Police Station Sub-inspector Nazmul Hossain submitted a remand report and requested that Saber be sent to jail.

The remand report said Saber had undergone questioning after the remand order was granted, but he was unable to answer any questions due to his physical condition.

He had three stents placed in his heart previously.

The report concluded that due to his health, meaningful information could not be obtained through interrogation, and he was thus sent to the court following the remand period as per procedure.

In another attempted murder case at Paltan Police Station, SI Mohammad Parvez Bhuiyan requested his arrest.

Following his arrest in both cases, Saber’s lawyer Shaheen filed for bail and presented arguments in court.

After reviewing the documents, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ziadur Rahman granted the bail request.

Saber’s lawyer told bdnews24.com, “We have submitted the bail bonds, and once they are filed in court, he will be released shortly.”

Saber was arrested in Gulshan on Sunday.

He was the environment, forest, and climate change minister in the last cabinet of the ousted Awami League government.

Earlier in 1999, he joined the cabinet as the deputy minister of the shipping ministry and later served in the local government, rural development, and cooperatives ministry.

In 2023, he was appointed as the special envoy on environment and climate change to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

He also chaired the parliamentary standing committee on environment, forest, and climate change in the 11th parliament.