Fear grips Bogura’s Chak Bhola Kha village

Only a few days ago, the fields of Chak Bhola Kha village in Bogura’s Shibganj upazila echoed with the laughter of children and the chatter of tea-stall gatherings at dusk. Now, the once-lively village lies eerily silent and deserted. Doors and gates are locked, homes abandoned, and many residents are on the run, fleeing to avoid arrest. It all began on the night of October 4.

That night, police arrested upazila Awami League Organising Secretary and former vice chairman Rezzakul Islam Raju, a resident of Chak Bhola Kha, in connection with a case filed over the anti-discrimination student movement. But before police could take him to the station, a group of villagers allegedly snatched him away, still handcuffed. Since then, Raju has been absconding.

Following the incident, police filed a case accusing Raju and 20 others by name, while listing another 200 people as unidentified. What followed was a sweeping police operation across the village.

Locals allege that the police are not arresting suspects, but rather punishing the entire village.

On October 5, police reportedly arrested four members of the same family from their home; Mahbur Rahman,48, his wife Parul Begum,38, their son Bappi Hasan,27, and Rafia,19, wife of Mahbur’s other son, Maruf Hasan. As Maruf was at work at the time, police could not detain him.

Villagers insist the Mahbur family had no involvement in Raju’s escape. “They were at home during the incident,” said several residents.

That same day, police arrested a total of 21 people, including 11 women and 10 men.

Elderly resident Alefa Begum said, “Police broke open tin doors and stormed into homes. They didn’t even spare the women. My nephew’s wife, 30-year-old Rebeqa, was also taken away.”

These actions have raised serious questions among the villagers, is this really an operation to capture suspects, or a campaign of intimidation meant to instil fear?

Local elders compared the police raids to the atrocities committed by the occupation forces in 1971. “Not everyone in this village is a criminal, yet everyone is living like fugitives,” said one resident. “People are too afraid to return to their own homes.”

When Views Bangladesh visited Chak Bhola Kha on Friday afternoon, October 10, a light drizzle had begun. Under a tin shed, a small group of men gathered. Frustrated and angry, they said, “The Constitution says all power belongs to the people. It should now be rewritten to say all power belongs to the police.”

Among them were Golam Mostafa,55, Abdus Sattar,60, and Razzab,57, along with several others.

Villagers argued that it was the police’s failure to prevent Raju’s escape that led to the current crisis. “Instead of accepting their own failure, they’re punishing the entire village,” said one local.

When contacted, Shibganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahinuzzaman told Views Bangladesh, “So far, 21 people have been arrested from Chak Bhola Kha. Police are not harassing anyone, only those involved in the incident are being detained.”

The villagers, however, demand an immediate end to the harassment of innocent people. They urged authorities to stop mass arrests and instead conduct a fair investigation to identify the real offenders.

They asked, “If the state itself begins to treat its citizens as enemies, then where can ordinary people find safety?”