HC order Nov 23 over Joj Mia controversy

The High Court on Monday fixed November 23 for order on the plea for revoking the evidence before the trial court provided by prosecution witness (PW) Joj Mia in the August 21 grenade blast case a decade ago. After hearing from both sides on the revision petition filed by accused Ujjwal alias Ratan, an HC division bench, comprising Justice M Abdul Hafiz and Justice M Ruhul Quddus passed the order. On September 30, PW-104 Joj Mia provided evidence before the trial court. Accused Ujjwal moved the High Court as the trial court rejected his plea of cancelling the evidence of Joj Mia in the case. During the hearing, defence counsel argued that accused Joj Mia made confessional statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC acknowledging his guilt in the commission of the crime. But the investigation officer (IO) dropped his name from the charge-sheet considering his statement as tutored and false, said the defence counsel. Later, the investigation officer while submitting the supplementary charge-sheet mentioned Joj Mia as a prosecution witness and accordingly he made evidence before the trial court, said defence counsel, adding that there is no record of making a prosecution witness in a case without declaring an accused approver, according to a news agency.