A violent attack on the Khetlal police station in Joypurhat was led by a BNP leader over a demand for extortion money, leaving five people, including two police officers, injured.
On Tuesday (March 18), just before Iftar, the Khetlal police station was stormed by over a hundred individuals under the leadership of Mehdi Ashik Partha, the organizational secretary of the BNP’s Khetlal unit, demanding the release of three people in police custody. The situation escalated as two police officers were attacked and injured, and the station was temporarily blocked.
According to police sources, the incident began when BNP members, led by Partha, attempted to forcibly take away three individuals who were under arrest. When police officers attempted to intervene, they were assaulted, leaving them wounded. In response, the police sought assistance from the army, who arrived on-site and used baton charges to control the crowd. Two people were arrested at the scene, with an additional three later detained, although the police have not yet confirmed the identities of all arrested individuals.
Following the attack, the district police force, led by Police Superintendent Abdul Wahab, arrived with reinforcements, including officers from the district detective branch and Kalai police station, to secure the area.
The injured included Toffajul Hossain (35) and Amirul Islam (27) from Shakharunj village in Khetlal, along with Rafiq (37) and Abdul Momin (38) from Shahjahanpur, Bogura. Two police officers, Kazi Zafar and Suman, were also injured. Additionally, BNP’s Khetlal unit general secretary Abu Bakar Siddique sustained injuries from the army’s baton charge.
Rafiq, one of the injured, spoke to reporters, explaining that the incident began when Toffajul Hossain went to the sub-register office in Khetlal to complete land registration. There, local BNP members, led by the 9th Ward President Kabir Chowdhury, demanded a bribe of 50,000 taka. When Hossain refused, he was threatened with preventing the registration process unless the money was paid. Shortly thereafter, they were attacked by BNP members, who later made their way to the police station to disrupt proceedings and prevent legal action.
BNP’s Khetlal general secretary Abu Bakar Siddique claimed that when he went to resolve the issue, he was also subjected to baton charges by the army. He urged the media to report the truth of the events.
Khetlal BNP President Khaledul Masud Anjuman remarked that anyone from the party involved in criminal activities would face justice.
Liberty News’ local correspondent states that Khetlal Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mahbubur Rahman confirmed that three individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. He stated that preparations for filing a case are underway and operations to apprehend other suspects are ongoing, with further details to be released later.
LND/BG
