Singer Momtaz’s 33 minutes in the dock

Folk singer and former Manikganj-2 MP Momtaz Begum has been shown arrested in the murder case of Shawon Mufti, who was killed during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protests.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Parto Bhadra issued the order on Monday after a hearing.

The famed singer was brought to the dock under police protection from the court lock-up around 10:30am.

She was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof jacket at the time, alongside a mask. Later, police personnel took off her jacket and helmet when they brought her to the dock. Momtaz leaned against the wall and seemed to be hiding a bit. Women police personnel stood near her.

The judge came to the courtroom around 10:38am. The hearing on Momtaz’s arrest petition in a murder case filed with the Kotwali Police Station began first. She took off her mask and came forward.

After the hearing, Momtaz was shown arrested in the case. Then she moved to the back again. There, she began talking to former MP Sabina Akter Tuhin, who was elected to a seat reserved for women.

Sabina was seen smiling but Momtaz was silent. Later, the former MP spoke with the police personnel standing at the back. She seemed exhausted in the heat and was wiping her face. Police made her wear a helmet and jacket again at 11:11am and took her back to the lock-up.

The case dossier says that, on the night of Aug 5, protester Shawon Mufti was shot in the left side of the chest in front of the “Phulkali” shop at the Tantibazar intersection. He was later declared dead at Sir Salimullah Medical College (Mitford) Hospital late at night.

His mother Maksuda Begum filed a murder case with the Kotwali Police Station on May 28. The case named 57 people, including Sheikh Hasina, as well as 100-150 unidentified people, as suspects.

On May 12, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) arrested Momtaz Begum from Dhanmondi. Afterwards, the police took her into custody and have interrogated her in connection with multiple cases.