MP Rumin Farhana Confronts Sarail Police Chief over Denied Security, Heated Exchange Sparks Tension

Barrister Rumin Farhana, a member of parliament, went to Sarail police station in Brahmanbaria and vented her anger at the officer-in-charge (OC), complaining that she had not received personal security during Durga Puja and had not been treated courteously. A heated exchange inside the station and slogans by supporters outside created a tense situation in the area.

Rumin Farhana, MP for Brahmanbaria-2 (Sarail-Ashuganj-Bijaynagar), expressed her anger in the OC's room at Sarail police station at around 8 pm on Thursday (22 October). At one point she told the OC, 'You were a big Awami Leaguer.'

She accused the OC of bribery and corruption, of taking money from soil-cutting and sand businesses, and of going to eat at the homes of Awami League leaders. The OC denied all of these allegations.

In the station room, Rumin Farhana was heard saying she had requested personal security multiple times. She was given security in Bijaynagar and Ashuganj, but not in Sarail. Her claim is that there is a provision for an elected MP to receive security at the local level when they ask for it.

Rumin Farhana said: 'How many times have I requested that security be given? They gave me security in Bijaynagar, they gave me security in Ashuganj. There is a law that if an elected MP asks for security, it will be provided in the local area. This law was made after an MP was shot in Gaibandha during the Awami League period and he died.'

Accusing the OC further, she said: 'He does not even answer my people's phone calls and says, she is an elected MP, the people will give her security. That is why the people you see — there are another 5-10 thousand people outside. They are giving me security. I do need security, right? So the people are giving me security.'

Rumin Farhana claimed there are allegations against the OC of corruption and of taking money from soil-cutting, sand and brickfield-related businesses. She said the area is prone to riots, and alleged that police arrive at a scene only after the situation has calmed down. She said she had gone to the station to raise these matters, and that the OC should not have behaved this way with an elected MP.

Asked about the allegations, Sarail police station OC Mohammad Manjur Quader Bhuiyan said: 'MP Rumin Farhana came to the station with one to one hundred and fifty people, made an uproar, and several hundred people entered my office, creating an embarrassing situation.'

The OC said: 'She has brought some people coached to say nasty things against me, which I do not practise. She says I went to eat rice at some Awami League leader's house. I never go to anyone's invitation. I do not go even to wedding invitations. Apart from state programmes, I do not attend any food events. Only government programmes, where the UNO is present, I am present, the magistrate is present — then I go.'

The OC also denied an allegation that he was given 30,000 taka to release an accused in a case. He said: 'She has brought a staged man. He says he gave me 30,000 taka about releasing a case accused. I do not remember ever seeing that man. Accused persons come, officers arrest them and send them to custody, then they go to court. There is no need for interrogation with me at all.'

On the brickfield allegation, the OC said: 'She says I take money from brickfields. Brickfields here are in a haor area, all of them are submerged under water. Where did she get this allegation from?'

Raising the question of security at puja venues, the OC said there was strict police security during Durga Puja and comprehensive arrangements were made to ensure the security of all puja mandaps in the station area. Seeking a gunman for an MP's personal security is a separate matter; she can apply to the superintendent of police for it. If a gunman is approved, action will be taken accordingly. He said it was not possible for him to keep a team engaged with her in that way.

OC Manjur Quader Bhuiyan further alleged that Rumin Farhana, with her followers, confined him in the station room and held a procession outside the station. He said he could not recognise many of those who came to the station. He claimed the MP often pressures him not to arrest people of a banned Awami League organisation. In reply, Rumin Farhana told the OC that he himself was a big Awami Leaguer and they know everything; now he has come to identify people of the banned Awami League organisation.

At that time, Rumin Farhana's supporters also got into an argument with the OC. The OC instructed the station's police members to record video of the conversations, and said he had noted down the matter of the disorder at the station. While Rumin Farhana was at the station, several hundred people outside were seen chanting slogans in her favour and against the OC, creating a tense situation at the station and in the surrounding area. Local attention is now on what follows these counter-allegations.