Anti-discrimination leader Mahdi Hasan arrested in India while fleeing to Europe

Mahdi Hasan, the leader of the anti-discrimination movement in Habiganj, who sparked a storm of criticism across the country for his remarks, 'I burned the police station, I burned the SI', has now been arrested in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

On Wednesday (February 18), the Indian Immigration Police stopped him while he was fleeing to Europe through the Delhi airport. A diplomatic source in Delhi confirmed these facts.

Coming to Delhi and secret plans
A few days ago, Mahdi Hasan (Ahmad Reza Hasan Mahdi) went to New Delhi from Bangladesh. There, he stayed at a residential hotel called Woodland in the Paharganj area. His main purpose behind going to Delhi was to migrate to Europe. To this end, he prepared to go to Europe by marrying eight years older expatriate Bangladeshi woman Tuhin Akter through a visa consultancy called VFS Global.

How he was caught
When he was about to board an Air India flight to Europe with a visa as planned, he was stopped by the Indian Immigration Police at the immigration checkpoint at Delhi Airport. Later, he was sent back to Dhaka on an IndiGo Airlines flight.

After releasing Mahdi Hasan, he went on Facebook Live. At that time, he complained of non-cooperation and said that he would be sent back to the country.

The day before, on Tuesday, a video of Mahdi going to the VFS center for visa-related work went viral on social media. He was called the 'self-confessed murderer of July' by various Facebook and X accounts.

Why did Mahdi come into the spotlight
Mahdi Hasan first came into the spotlight after a video of him arguing with Abul Kalam, the OC of Shayestaganj Police Station in Habiganj, went viral. In that video, Mahdi can be heard entering the OC's room and saying, 'We, the July protesters, have brought the government to power. We burned down Baniachong police station, we set SI Santosh on fire. Did so many of our sons just float away?’

He also mentioned in that video that 10 people were killed in Habiganj during the July uprising. This statement created intense discussion and criticism across the country.

The course of events of arrest and release
In the face of criticism, Mahdi Hasan was arrested on January 3, 2026. However, from that evening, leaders and activists of the anti-discrimination movement gathered in front of the police station and started protesting demanding his release. The anti-discrimination student movement also held a central protest rally in Dhaka and issued an ultimatum to release him. Under pressure, Mahdi was released on bail the next day, January 4.

Even after his release, the organization demanded that Mahdi be released unconditionally, not on bail. At the same time, demands were raised for the promulgation of an ordinance exempting all participants in the July coup from all liability for activities from July 1 to August 8.