Reuters stringer Enamul Haque Chowdhury was shown arrested in the Mymensingh bomb blasts case on Tuesday according to a submission of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka.
The CID sought seven days' remand for Enamul. The CMM Court referred this petition to the Mymensingh Magistrate's Court-- where the bomb blasts case was filed on December 7.
Enamul was produced before the court yesterday, after his completion of three days' remand with the Detective Branch police. The DB sought permission from the CMM's Court for recording Enamul's confessional statement. CMM Mohammad Ayub granted the permission and forwarded it to Metropolitan Magistrate Shafiq Anwar.Enamul was taken to Shafiq's chamber at 10.00 am where his confessional statement was recorded for six hours beginning from 10.30 am.
A Reuters report on the Mymensingh bomb blasts on December 7 created controversy over a quotation of Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury. The minister on the next day claimed that he did not talk to Reuters, while the international news agency stood by its story. The minister issued a rejoinder.
The Reuters story quoted Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury as saying, "The bomb attacks could be the act of al-Qaeda or any other terrorist group." He also quoted Altaf as saying that the political opponents of the government might also have been behind the explosions.
Events took a sharp turn when Reuters withdrew its story and began an internal investigation to find out how the story was filed.
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