BANGLADESH

A Rangpur court has rejected the final report of police in a case of violence over tender filed against the assistant personal secretary (APS) of the state minister for primary and mass education.

Rangpur's senior judicial magistrate Nityananda Sarker on Sunday rejected the report and ordered police to present the case diary on Oct 4 along with the case documents, court police sub-inspector Lovely Begum said.

Contractor Abdul Baset filed the case on Sept 6 with Kotwali Police Station against state minister Motahar Hossain's APS Sazzad Hossain Sagar and 11 Rangpur Awami League leaders and activists on charges of snatching tenders and assaulting and barring contractors from submitting bids at Rangpur Water Development Board (WDB) office.

Sagar was arrested that day along with the others including ruling party's Rangpur town unit joint secretary Shahinur Rahman Sohel. They came out after securing bails on Sept 14.

Confirming the incident, Kotwali police chief Altaf Hossain on Sept 14 had said that the bails were given as nobody from the WDB office agreed to testify and the plaintiff had come to an understanding with the accused.

All the suspects were present at the court on Sunday's hearing which sat following recent submission of the final report from police.

SI Lovely said, "None of the witnesses including Baset wanted to testify. Police had to submit the final report though they are certain that the incident did happen."

The violence at the WDB office took place over a Tk 230 million tender submission for a project in Lalmonirhat.