Case filed after Chhatra League leader snatched from police custody in Ishwarganj, two arrested
A case has been filed over the snatching of Riazul Alam alias Shahin, an upazila Chhatra League leader accused in several cases, from police custody after his arrest in Ishwarganj of Mymensingh. Twenty-seven people have been named in the case, along with another 25 to 30 unidentified people. Police have arrested two men in connection with the incident.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Mazharul Islam of the Atharabari Rayerbazar police investigation centre filed the case at Ishwarganj police station on Saturday (October 24) as the complainant. The case is learnt to have been filed over obstructing government work and attacking police.
Earlier, the incident took place at around 6:45pm on Friday (October 23) in front of Arshadul's tea shop near the Sarisha union parishad office in the upazila. Police members were allegedly beaten and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw they were using was vandalised during the incident.
Police sources said members of the Rayerbazar police investigation centre located the whereabouts of Riazul Alam Shahin, an accused in several cases, on the basis of a tip-off. The officer-in-charge (OC) of Ishwarganj police station was then informed and a raid was carried out to arrest him.
After the arrest, he was being taken to the police station in a hired CNG-run auto-rickshaw. On the way, a dramatic turn of events followed — a group of people blocked the auto-rickshaw.
Police allege that, besides obstructing the arrest of Shahin, they injured the police members by punching and kicking them. At one stage, they vandalised the auto-rickshaw and snatched Shahin away from police custody.
On hearing of the incident, the OC of Ishwarganj police station went to the spot with additional police members. A raid was then conducted and two men — Wasim Mia (26) and Emdadul Haque (45) — were arrested.
The injured police members took primary treatment at the emergency department of the Ishwarganj Upazila Health Complex. The case process moved forward after their treatment.
The case statement names 27 people, including the two arrested men. In addition, several members of a local club and another 25 to 30 unidentified men and women have been accused. The two arrested men have been sent to court.
Riazul Alam alias Shahin is the number one joint general secretary of the Ishwarganj upazila Chhatra League. He is the son of the late Mojibur Rahman of Bagaputa village under Sohagi union of the upazila. Police had been looking for him as an accused in several cases.
Ishwarganj police station OC Md Sajjad Roman said a case had been filed over the attack on police members and obstruction of government work. Two people have been arrested in the incident and sent to court, and operations are under way to arrest the other accused. No one involved in the incident will be spared, he added.
Shahin, who was snatched from police custody, has not yet been recaptured. Rearresting him and catching the rest of those involved in the snatching is now the police's main task — operations are continuing, police station sources said.
