Journalist Munni Saha, who is accused in a July mass uprising case, was released conditionally in the wee hours after being taken to Tejgaon Police Station last night for security reasons, police have said.
"Police did not detain her. People detained her and then handed her over to the police," Rezaul Karim Mallick, additional commissioner (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star.
"The Tejgaon police first took her to the police station. She was moved to the DB police compound for security reasons," he said.
"Munni Saha had a panic attack and fell ill. Considering her condition and that she is a female journalist, we released her under section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code," Mallick said.
She was handed over to her family on bond and she must appear in court to seek bail and comply with future police summons, he added.
Section 497 of the CrPC allows the release on bail of any person under the age of 16 years or any woman or any sick or infirm person accused of an offence punishable with death.
Earlier, around 9:20pm, a group of people blocked Munni Saha when she was leaving a media office at Janata Tower in the capital's Kawran Bazar by car.
Video footage of the incident on social media showed people accusing Munni Saha of spreading misinformation during the BDR mutiny in 2009 through her reporting.
Mobarak Hossain, officer-in-charge of the Tejgaon Police Station, told The Daily Star at that time, "Munni Saha was wanted in a case filed earlier. She was arrested after police rescued her from locals in the capital's Kawran Bazar area."
The case against Munni Saha, six other journalists and another 185 individuals was filed on July 22 over the death of 17-year-old student Nayeem Howlader in the capital's Jatrabari on July 19 during the quota reform protests.
source: The Daily Star
