Police raid home to arrest Jubo League activist, arrest father instead

Police raided the home of an activist of the banned Jubo League in Dhamrai to arrest him, and not finding him, arrested his father. The raid was conducted in the Bhabanhati village of Balia union of the upazila around 12:30am on Saturday night. The arrested Mohammad Kalim Uddin is 60 years old. Police said his son, engineer Rifat Ahmed, is a Jubo League activist.

Police said Kalim Uddin holds no party post. However, he is an Awami League supporter. There is no case against him at the police station. He was shown arrested in a pending case and sent to jail through court.

Kalim Uddin's family said that around 12:30am on Saturday night, 10 to 12 people went to their home and knocked on the door. Some of them were wearing police uniforms. After they identified themselves as police, Kalim Uddin opened the door. At that time, Kalim Uddin, his wife Hasina Begum, daughter Happy Akter and daughter-in-law were at home.

Police asked the family members about Rifat. They said Rifat has not lived at home for about two to three years. As he is involved in politics, he has no contact with the family. Later, police called Kalim Uddin outside the house on the pretext of talking, and took him to the police station. He was sent to court on Sunday morning.

Kalim Uddin's wife Hasina Begum said her husband does farm work and is not involved in any politics. They do not keep in touch with their son because of his politics. There is also no case against him. She alleged that her husband was arrested only because of their son's political identity.

Dhamrai Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Nazmul Huda Khan said Rifat is a leader of the banned Jubo League and a procession was held under his leadership some time ago. A team of police led by the in-charge of the Kawalipara police outpost raided Rifat's home. According to information provided by the outpost in-charge, Rifat and his family members are supporters of the banned Awami League. For this reason, Kalim Uddin was shown arrested in a pending case.

Asked whether there is any case against Kalim Uddin or whether he is a post-holding Awami League leader, the OC said there is no case against him and he holds no post. However, he was arrested based on information that he is an Awami League supporter.

When contacted via WhatsApp, Rifat Ahmed identified himself as an activist of the banned Jubo League. He said he holds no post in the party. His father and family members told him not to do politics, but he did. He alleged that his farmer father was arrested after they failed to find him.

Rifat further alleged that alongside his father, police also picked up Shahin, an intermediate student from the neighbouring house, at night. He also claimed Shahin is not involved in any politics.

Asked about Shahin's arrest, OC Nazmul Huda Khan said criminals usually do not confess to crimes. Shahin was arrested based on sufficient evidence. He claimed Shahin was seen at the procession held under Rifat's leadership.