A Dhaka court yesterday granted bail to three immigration cops, a security officer and three brokers, arrested on charges of sending four people to Dubai with fake passports.

Rejecting an objection from the prosecution, the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka also bailed the four people arrested on charges of using fake passports.

Granting bail three days into the arrest has created mixed reaction among lawyers and litigants on the court premises.

Metropolitan Magistrate Rokanuddoula in his order said there was no development in the interrogation of the arrestees and that the charges brought against them are bailable.

The accused are immigration cops Sub-inspector (SI) Mokbul Ahmed, Assistant SI Ashraful Alam, constable Motiur Rahman, Caab (Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh) Security Officer Amzad Hossain, brokers Mokhlesur Rahman, Fazlul Karim and Mokbul Ahmed, and fortune seekers Kaptan Mia, Abul Kalam, Mohammad Kabir and Mohammad Ishaq.

Airport police yesterday took all the accused except the fortune seekers to the court on completion of their one-day remand.

Investigation officer Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid in his forwarding report said they received important information from the arrestees, who need to be confined until the investi-gation ends.

General Recording Officer (GRO) SI Sairul Islam opposed the bail petitions, saying the charges were primarily proved.

He said the fake passport holders in their confessional statements to a magistrate also revealed the names of other arrestees involved in the incident.

The defence lawyers submitted separate bail petitions, saying their clients were falsely implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy.

Senior Advocate Mahabubul Haque told The Daily Star he wonders how a magistrate grants bail to the accused within such a short time. Even if the charges are bailable, they should not be bailed considering their offences, which have tarnished the country's image, he added.

Police in separate drives on April 29 and May 1 arrested the cops, security officer, brokers and the fortune seekers.