A Dhaka court yesterday directed the investigation officer (IO) to interrogate Mufti Abdul Hannan, operations commander of the banned Harkatul Jihad's Bangladesh chapter, with caution.

Hannan was placed on a fresh seven-day remand yesterday. This is the seventh time he has been put on remand. Before this he was on remand for 37 days in six phases.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Shamsul Alam issued the order when the Detective Branch (DB) of police produced Hannan before the court at 3:00pm on completion of a seven-day remand in the August 17 Rajuk blast case.

Hannan was shown arrested on November 3 in the case filed for the blasts near the traffic island in front of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkho (Rajuk) Bhaban. Later, he was placed on seven-day remand for interrogation.

“I could not stand and my left hand is numb. Sometimes, I vomit due to severe headache. Moreover, I am in police custody for over 40 days,” Hannan told the court when he was asked about his right of private defence without any lawyers.

The DB Inspector Abdur Razzak's forwarding report placed before the court said Hannan was directly involved in the blast in the Rajuk Bhaban area and he needs to be quizzed to find out vital clues to the blasts and the whereabouts of his accomplices.

Advocate Khorshed Alam, general secretary of Dhaka Bar Association, asked the general recording officer (GRO) about the legality of the number of days on remand for Hannan. But the GRO replied the IO had gathered important information from him about the August 17 bomb blasts.

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members took Hannan, wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest, to the court where the hearing on the remand prayer took place.

Mufti Hannan was arrested at Madhya Badda in Dhaka on October 1 after hiding for several years. He was later shown arrested in three bomb blast cases filed with Tejgaon, Ramna and Motijheel police stations.