A court has granted bail to Md Rakib Hossain, 24, in a case over the death of Ranjila Parvin, a 56-year-old headteacher from Bogura, who fell onto the road after a snatcher forcefully pulled her bag in front of parliament in Dhaka.
Today (18 October), Dhaka Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Ayesha Akter Mousumi granted him bail on a Tk5,000 bond following a hearing.
Defence lawyer Md Mehedi Hasan Mazumder said the court granted bail until the police report is submitted in the case.
He expressed hope that Rakib would be released from jail soon, as no other cases are pending against him.
The lawyer further said the motorcycle initially seized by police belonged to Rakib but was not used in the snatching.
It was in a garage at the time of the incident, and CCTV footage was available to support the claim, he added.
He said the motorcycle actually used in the snatching was recovered later and claimed that Rakib had been implicated in the case solely to harass him.
In the bail petition, the defence claimed that Rakib was innocent and had been implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy.
It further stated that he was not involved in the incident, the motorcycle recovered in connection with the snatching did not belong to him and no stolen goods had been recovered from his possession.
The petition also alleged that he had been implicated due to a media trial and sought bail on any terms set by the court.
According to the case statement, Ranjila Parvin was the headteacher of Bagbari Government Primary School in Gabtali upazila of Bogura.
On 29 August, she was travelling by autorickshaw with her husband, Md Abdul Matin, at around 5:55am to visit an eye specialist.
When they reached the paved road near Gate no 12 of the parliament complex on Manik Mia Avenue, motorcycle-borne snatchers grabbed her bag and pulled it forcefully.
The force of the pull caused her to fall from the moving autorickshaw onto the road, leaving her with severe head injuries.
She was rescued and taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in critical condition. While she was being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital later, doctors declared her dead.
Her husband, Md Abdul Matin, subsequently filed a case at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.
On 30 August, Rapid Action Battalion-2 (RAB-2) conducted an operation and detained the accused from different locations in the capital. During the operation, they seized a snatched smartphone, cash and a Yamaha R15 motorcycle allegedly used in the crime.
On 31 August, the court granted five days of remand for the accused.