Staff Correspondent:

A court has ordered the arrest of former state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak in two separate murder cases filed at Jatrabari Police Station over incidents during the July Uprising.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Palak stood in the dock and was unable to hold back his tears.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Masum Mia passed the order following petitions from the investigating officers in the cases.

Palak was brought to court from jail wearing a helmet, a bulletproof jacket, and handcuffs, around 10:30 am.

His family was standing in the court veranda at the time. Looking out, Palak tried to communicate with them through hand signals. At one point, he began to cry as he looked at them. His family members also broke down when they saw him in tears.

Palak looked dejected after the hearing concluded and he was taken back into custody.

The former state minister was arrested at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport on Aug 6 as he tried to flee the country after the toppling of the Awami League government. Some employees of government agencies on duty at the airport recognised and detained him.

Since then, he has been placed under arrest in a number of cases and remanded to police custody for interrogation several times.