Dhaka: A Dhaka court on Sunday rejected bail petitions of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Mirza Abbas in two arson cases.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Kamrul Hossain passed the order after hearing the bail petitions placed by Abbas.

Lawyer Sanaullah Maih stood for the BNP leader while Additional Public Prosecutor Tapas Kumar Pal argued for the state.

On 6 January, Judge M Mahabubur Rahman of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court sent the BNP leader to jail rejecting his bail petitions in two separate arson cases filed with Motijheel and Paltan police stations after he surrendered before the court.

On the day, Mirza Abbas surrendered before the court and sought bail in four cases— two filed with Mirpur Police Station, one with Paltan and another with Motijheel police station.

The court, however, awarded him bail in two arson cases filed with Mirpur Police Station.

On 28 December 2014, some miscreants torched a bus of Public Administration Ministry at Paltan intersection on the eve of the hartal of 29 December.

Following the incident, Assistant Sub-inspector of Paltan Police Station M Abdul Malek Hawladar filed a case against 43 people, including BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas, and 20-25 unidentified people under the Explosive Substance Act.  

On 4 January 2015, Motijheel Police Station sub-inspector Suman Chandra Nath filed another case against 81 BNP leaders and activists, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Mirza Abbas and Andalib Rahman Partha, bringing the same allegations as some miscreants torched a private car at AGB Colony in Motijheel ahead of an opposition protest on 5 January.