Bid to 'save' cops while protesters fear arrest
A section of ruling Awami League (AL) leaders in Birganj and Kaharol upazilas are allegedly trying to save the policemen of Birganj upazila who were said to be involved in the May 3 robbery at Ghasiara village in Kaharol upazila under Dinajpur district.
Md Aftab Ahmed, chairman of Dimla upazila parishad in Nilphamari, and president of the upazila unit of AL, held a meeting with a few leaders of Birganj upazila AL from around 9:00pm Sunday to around 3:30am on Monday, over the turbulence centring the robbery, said party insiders.
Blaming another faction of the upazila AL for inciting locals to besiege Birganj police station on May 3, the participants at the meeting decided to save policemen including officer in charge of Birganj Md Aktaruzzaman Prodhan, also son-in-law of Aftab Ahmed, party insiders said.
Meanwhile, the villagers of Ghasiara, who burst into protest after catching five policemen on suspicion of their involvement with the robbery and burnt a police van and the microbus which was hired by the alleged robbers, are passing their time in panic of arrest, sources said.
Later the villagers confined 15 people including driver of the microbus, OC of Kaharol and ASP (Birganj Circle) Khairul Islam. Members of Border Guard Bangladesh from Dinajpur and Thakurgaon Battalion rescued them.
Deputy Commissioner Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed, who had also gone to the spot, told the agitating people while leaving the place that the policemen confined by the villagers would be arrested.
But none of them was arrested.
Even the microbus driver, who had been confined inside the house of robbery victim Rajendranath Devnath, was later released by police, sources said.
Microbus driver Md Saiful Islam told the villagers that Birganj OC Md Aktaruzzaman Prodhan hired his microbus.
Question arose why policemen from Birganj on a hired microbus entered another upazila, which is outside their jurisdiction.
Binoy Krishna Bala, DIG of Rangpur, who visited the spot on Sunday, said that six policemen including two OCs had been closed in this connection.
Prionath Devnath, elder brother of Rajendranath Devnath, filed a case with Kaharol police station on Monday evening against at least 16 unknown people for the May 3 robbery, police said.
But the statement of thez case, filed under alleged influence, mentioned that no policeman was seen during the robbery.
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