Teen accused in Teknaf arms case granted bail

 
A Teknaf court has granted bail to Rafi, a teenager accused in a controversial arms case in Cox's Bazar, where he was allegedly arrested in place of his father during a police operation.

The bail order was issued by Cox's Bazar District and Sessions Judge Abdul Majeed on Thursday, confirmed Public Prosecutor (PP) Mohammad Yunus of Women and Child Torture Tribunal-3, reports agency. The accused, a seventh-grade student from a local high school in Hnila Union's Ward No. 5, is the son of a Union Parishad public representative and a member of the upazila Awami League.

Mohammad Yunus said that the boy's lawyers submitted a bail application on Thursday morning. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted permanent bail, considering the accused's age and his ongoing annual exams. On Wednesday, the Centre for Law and Justice filed a writ petition in the High Court, alleging that the teenager was framed by police with planted evidence after failing to locate his father during a raid. The High Court, taking cognizance of the petition, ordered the officer-in-charge of Teknaf police station, Mohammad Gias Uddin, to appear in person and explain his legal stance regarding the incident. In a press statement issued on November 29, the police described the operation, which took place on November 26 around 4am.

They claimed two individuals tried to flee during the raid, and one was apprehended with a blue shopping bag containing a foreign pistol, six bullets, and 40 blue cartridges.

The teenager allegedly confessed that the weapon belonged to his father, who had given it to him for hiding near a neighbour's house.
Police alleged the father is involved in terrorism and drug trafficking.

The boy was subsequently charged under the Arms Control Act and sent to the Child Development Centre via court orders.

The family has strongly denied the police's claims, alleging the incident was a politically motivated scheme orchestrated by the father's political and electoral rivals. They claim the boy was targeted and arrested when police failed to locate his father during the operation.