Dhaka: A Dhaka court on Sunday framed charges against BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in a defamation case filed for making disparaging remarks on Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina and Awami League.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nurnabi Mirza framed charges rejecting the discharge petition filed by the BNP leader.

As the charges were read out before Fakhrul, he pleaded not guilty and sought justice.

The court also fixed 23 October for recording testimony in the case.

According to the case statement, Fakhrul, at a press conference at the BNP’s central office at Naya Paltan on August 24, 2014, said, ‘Sheikh Hasina herself is a killer and her party Awami League is known at killers’ party.’

‘Her (Hasina) hand is bloodstained with the blood of hundreds of youths. There is no difference between Awami League and the Pakistani Hanadar Bahini,’ Fakhrul added.

Online and print media outlets and televisions ran stories on the statement of the BNP leader.

Following the incident, Nur-E-Alam Siddique, vice-president of the central committee of Bangladesh Awami Motshojibi

League, filed a case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Rani Chakrabarti on 1 September.

However, Fakhrul secured bail in the case later.