Seven held in Chattogram over Sheikh Hasina birthday food distribution

Police detained seven people, including three women, in Chattogram’s Bayezid Bostami area while they were allegedly distributing food and cake to mark former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.

The arrests were made during a raid in the Oxygen Shitol Jhorna residential area around 9:30pm on Sunday (September 27), according to Bayezid Bostami police.

The detainees include two minors, aged 16 and 17, and four other men and women. Police identified them as Nurul Hakim Rabbi, 25; Habibur Rahman, 19; Suphia Begum, 50; Sharmin Akter, 30; and Sharmin Akter Lima, 27, along with the two minors.

Officer-in-Charge Ikhtiar Uddin said the seven were detained while distributing food and cake in connection with Hasina’s birthday. Legal proceedings against them were under way, he said.

According to a police statement, the operation was conducted under the direction of Chattogram Metropolitan Police’s North Division Deputy Commissioner Md Hasan Mostafa Swapan and led by the Bayezid Bostami police chief.

Police alleged that the detainees were affiliated with the banned Awami League, Jubo League and Bangladesh Chhatra League. The two minors were described by police as children in conflict with the law.

The detainees remained in police custody as authorities processed legal action against them.