‘I was joking,’ man tells court over ‘sniper’ comment on PM’s bus, gets 7-day remand

A Dhaka court has placed Md Abu Bokor Siddique, 22, on a seven-day remand for questioning over a Facebook comment suggesting a sniper was missing from an opportunity involving a bus carrying Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

During the remand hearing today (25 October), Siddique told the court that he made the comment as a joke and had no intention behind it.

“I just wrote it casually. I had no intention. I did it as a joke,” he said, admitting it was a mistake.

After the hearing, Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque granted the seven-day remand.

Earlier, Sub-Inspector Md Yasin Paik of the DB Cyber and Special Crime (North) unit’s Organised Crime Investigation Team sought seven days of remand for the accused.

According to the remand application, police need to question Siddique to uncover the motive behind the incident and identify two to three other unnamed suspects mentioned in the case. The application said the accused had admitted his involvement.

Investigators also want to determine whether any organised terrorist group, sniper or arms supply network was involved, and whether Siddique is linked to any organised group, banned organisation or mastermind.

The application further stated that police need to identify and seize any additional devices or digital evidence and investigate whether other individuals or groups were involved in activities threatening Bangladesh’s territorial integrity, security, public safety and sovereignty.

State lawyer Shamsuddoha Sumon sought the maximum seven-day remand, saying the incident needed to be verified and investigators needed to establish why the accused made the comment, which organisations he might be associated with and who was behind the incident.

When the judge asked whether he had a lawyer, Siddique looked around and said he did not. The judge then asked why he had made the comment.

Siddique was sent to jail on 23 October.

How the comment was posted

According to the case document, three photographs of a bus carrying Tarique Rahman were posted in the Facebook group “The Beauty of Rajshahi” on 21 October.

The caption questioned the use of a Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet) bus instead of a red-and-green bulletproof bus for the prime minister in Rajshahi.

In the comments section, a Facebook account named “MD Abu Bokor Siddique” wrote, “If only there had been a sniper, it would have been a great opportunity.”

Using information technology, police identified the account’s user and arrested Siddique from Gholharia Dakshinpara in Paba, Rajshahi. His father, Md Aynal Haque, was also detained but later released after initial investigations found no involvement.

Police seized Siddique’s mobile phone. The remand application claimed that a review of the phone revealed offensive comments on various Facebook pages and groups.

The case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Ramna Police Station in Dhaka by DB Cyber and Special Crime (North) Sub-Inspector Md Manik Hossain.