A court on Monday placed an accused, Anwar Hossain, on a three-day remand for questioning in a case filed in connection with vandalism and arson on the Prothom Alo office.

The court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order after a hearing on Monday, prosecution lawyer Shamsuddoha Sumon confirmed.

Anwar Hossain, 38, is a central leader of the Sramik Shakti, the workers’ wing of the National Citizens’ Party.

Earlier, the investigation officer of the case, sub-inspector Shah Minhaj Uddin of the Web-Based Crime Investigation Team of the Detective Branch, presented the accused in the court and sought for a five-day remand.

The remand application stated that Anwar Hossain, a resident of Sonapur village in Raipur upazila of Lakshmipur, was currently in jail in another case.

A review of statements from local people, video footage and information obtained during the investigation has found important evidence regarding his involvement in the attack on the Prothom Alo office, the application said.

The remand application further stated that some of the attackers spread provocative posts on social media and another 350 to 450 people from different areas of Dhaka gathered there.

At one stage, they broke the shutters and glass of the gate of the Prothom Alo office located in Karwan Bazar, vandalised it and set it on fire.

The Prothom Alo authorities filed the case against 400-500 unnamed people on December 22, 2025.

During the remand hearing, the investigating officer told the court that it was necessary to interrogate Anwar Hossain to identify the main planners of the attack, recover the looted goods, and arrest others involved in the incident.

Court officials said that 38 accused have been arrested in the case so far. Of them, 19 have been granted bail.

On May 31, Anwar was arrested in Raipur of Lakshmipur on charges of spreading defamatory statements about prime minister Tarique Rahman on Facebook.

On December 18 of 2025, hundreds of attackers vandalised and looted the offices of the Prothom Alo at Karwanbazar and The Daily Star on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, and then set fire to the offices following the death of Inquilab Mancha convener Sharif Osman Hadi at a hospital in Singapore.