Two Sent to Jail Over Fire in Car Once Used by Actor Manna in Bashundhara

A court has sent two men to jail in connection with a fire that broke out while a car once used by the late film actor Manna was being repaired in the Bashundhara Residential Area of the capital. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid passed the order on Tuesday following a police application.

The two accused sent to jail are Md Mamun Mondal (29), manager of actor Manna's family, and technician Md Sohel Patwary (37). Defence lawyer Khademul Islam confirmed the information to Prothom Alo.

Earlier, the case's investigating officer and Bhatara Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Yaur Rahman produced the accused before the court and applied to keep them detained in jail. In the application, he said preliminary investigation had found evidence against the accused and that they needed to remain in jail until the investigation was completed.

Defence lawyer Khademul Islam said actor Manna died in 2008 and the car he used had lain unused for a long time. The fire broke out due to a mechanical fault while work was under way to repair it, and the accused did not set the fire deliberately, he said. A hearing on their bail application is scheduled for Wednesday.

According to the case statement, the car was kept in the ground-floor garage of a building in the Bashundhara Residential Area. Manna's wife lives in a rented flat in that building. As oil was leaking from the car, the building authorities requested that it be removed. Manna's wife then instructed her manager Mamun to take the car to an outside workshop for repair. But Mamun, ignoring the instruction, began work inside the garage on Monday with technician Sohel.

At around 6 pm on Monday, the car caught fire. Manna's car was completely burnt and another private car parked beside it was also damaged. The fire burnt the building's garage, electric wires, CCTV cameras, the gate shutter and other equipment, and broke glass in parts of the building. The case statement put the estimated damage at around Tk 90 lakh.

The building's manager, Md Gazi Manik Mia, filed the case at Bhatara Police Station on Tuesday morning. Police then arrested Mamun and Sohel from the Bashundhara Residential Area at around 11 am.

Bhatara Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mazharul Islam told Prothom Alo that the car once used by actor Manna had been lying unused for about a year and a half. Although the car was supposed to be taken outside for repair, they called a mechanic and worked inside the building, and that is where the fire started.