Bangladesh judge's ancestral home burnt hours after judgment

Within hours of his ordering a ban on reporting Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman's speeches and statements in the media, Justice Qazi Rezaul Haque's ancestral house was set on fire by miscreants.

Haque's nephew Rommel said unidentified persons set fire to the kitchen in his uncle's ancestral house at Feni district, in the country's southeast, early Thursday, bdnews24.com reported.

No one was injured in the fire, Rommel said.

The bench of Justices Qazi Rezaul Haque and Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman Wednesday passed the order banning reporting of Tarique Rahman's speeches and statements in the media.

The order was passed by the two judges after hearing of a petition by one Nasrin Siddiqui Lina.

The order directs the information secretary to implement the high court order.

The petition, filed Tuesday, sought high court orders directing the information secretary to prevent newspapers, electronic media and social media from publicising, broadcasting or reproducing Tarique's speeches.

After hearing the matter, the court issued an interim order barring publication and broadcasting of the BNP leader's speeches or statements in mainstream and social media as long he is absconding.

Implicated in a couple of corruption cases, Tarique Rahman is the elder son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and has been living in London since 2008 after being released on parole. Later he was declared absconding by a Dhaka court in a case of money laundering.

Haque's nephew Rommel said no one was living in the judge's ancestral house for a long time as his uncle lived with his family in Dhaka.

The bamboo fence and tin roof of the house were severely damaged in the fire.

Justice Haque was last in the house last March but not after that, Rommel said.

Feni's additional police superintendent Md. Saiful Haq said the offenders would be brought to book.