'It was we who burnt Baniachang police station, set SI Santosh on fire'
In Habiganj, police were forced to release Enamul Hasan, also known as Noyon, a leader of the banned organisation Chhatra League, 15 hours after his arrest following pressure from leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
This incident occurred yesterday, Friday afternoon, at Shaistaganj police station.
A video of a heated argument between student leaders who had surrounded the station and the police went viral on social media.
In the footage, a leader of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement is heard threatening to set fire to Baniachong police station and kill a police officer.
Regarding the release of Enamul Hasan, leaders of the district Anti-Discrimination Student Movement said that although Enamul was once associated with Chhatra League, he later aligned himself with the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
The police stated that he was released as there was no evidence to support any allegations against him.
According to police sources, Enamul Hasan, vice-president of Shaistaganj Sadar union Chhatra League, was detained by Shaistaganj police late Thursday night and taken to the police station.
He was accused of being involved in the activities of the banned faction of Chhatra League.
After his detention, leaders and activists of the district Anti-Discrimination Student Movement surrounded the police station yesterday afternoon, demanding his release.
During this time, a group of leaders and activists, led by Mahdi Hasan, general secretary of the Student Rights Movement, staged a sit-in in the officer-in-charge’s room.
They stated that although Enamul Hasan was once associated with Chhatra League politics, he later became involved in the July movement, and they called for his release.
A video circulating on social media shows a heated exchange between Shaistaganj police station’s officer-in-charge, Abul Kalam, and Mahdi Hasan.
In the video, Mahdi Hasan is heard saying, “Through the July movement, we formed the government. Here, you are part of our administration. You have arrested our boys, and now you are bargaining with us. You (the OC) said, ‘So what if they were protestors?’”
At one point, Mahdi Hasan tells the OC, “We burnt down Baniachang police station, and we set SI Santosh on fire. From there, how dare you say, ‘So what if they were protestors?"
On receiving the news, Habiganj Sadar Circle’s additional superintendent of police, Shahidul Islam, rushed to Shaistaganj police station around 3:00 pm.
Through his intervention, the police released Enamul Hasan at 3:30 pm.
Repeated calls to his mobile number for comment went unanswered, and he did not respond to SMS messages either.
On Saturday morning, a press release issued quoting the Habiganj superintendent of police said Enamul Hasan had been detained by Shaistaganj police as a suspect.
It said that no evidence of his involvement in any offence was found during questioning and that he was later released into the custody of his guardian, in the morning.
Shaistaganj police station OC Abul Kalam said regarding the incident, “There was no wrongdoing on our part. What happened after the arrest has been seen by the whole country. The video was widely circulated. They recorded the video and they released it as well. There was no involvement of the police in this. If anyone commits an offence, they must be punished.”
OC Abul Kalam further said at noon today, “We detained him (Enamul) as a suspect in a case filed by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and over allegations of his links with Chhatra League.
Since it was late at night, we could not verify the matter properly. The next day, after collecting information from various sources, we learned that the detained person was not involved in any offence. He was later released on a bond.”