A court in Dhaka on Friday placed Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon on a five-day remand in a case filed over killing a businessman in the capital’s New Market area.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ali Hyder passed the order after the former minister was produced before the court this afternoon from the Detective Branch office.

The investigating officer of the case sought 10 days to interrogate Menon, while the defence submitted a petition seeking his bail.

After the hearing, the court allowed the IO five days to grill Menon, also a leader of the 14-party alliance led by the former ruling party, Awami League.

On Thursday, detectives arrested him in the Gulshan area and took him to the DB office.

He was shown arrested in the case filed with the New Market police station over the murder of a businessman named Abdul Wadud in the police station area during the recent Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former ministers Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan, and Hasan Mahmud, former prime minister's adviser Salman F Rahman, and former DB chief Harun-Or-Rashid are accused in the case among others.

According to the case statement, the police, by the direct order of the accused, opened fire on a peaceful march of students and people in front of the New Market Gate No 1 around 5pm on 19 July.

Abdul Wadud, 45, sustained bullet wounds while returning home from his business entity at Priyangon Shopping Centre in the area. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where the on-doctor declared him dead.

The Workers Party chief is also an accused in a case filed with the International Crimes Tribunal over the killing of college student Alvi in Mirpur of the capital during the recent movement.

He is an accused in another case filed with the tribunal for committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the 2013 Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Motijheel’s Shapla Chattar.