BNP men detain ex-OC Nezam, hand him over to police in Ctg

Nezam Uddin, former officer-in-charge (OC) of Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station was caught by a group of BNP activists and later handed over to the police this afternoon.

The incident took place around 2:30pm in front of the regional passport office in the city's Panchlaish area.

However, police later took him into custody at Panchlaish Police Station.

The protesters alleged when Nezam was OC in various police stations under the ruling Awami League government, he harassed them by arresting and implicating in sabotage cases.

Nezam served as the OC in Kotwali and Bakalia police stations under Chattogram Metropolitan Police as well as in Patiya Police Station in Chattogram district.

According to police and BNP sources, several BNP men recognised him, when he got out of his private car in front of the passport office and then they caught him. Witnesses said that Shahidul Islam Shahid, member secretary of the Swachchasebak Dal was among those BNP men.

When contacted, Shahid said, "We surrounded him upon recognising and confirmed his identity. Then we decided to hand him over to the police. Later a team from the police station arrived and rescued him, he added.

When asked about allegations of harassment or physical assault on Nezam, Shahid said, "We grabbed his shirt's collar but didn't do anything else."

He alleged, "While serving as OC in Kotwali and Bakalia, he fabricated false cases against BNP activists, arresting them from their homes. We couldn't even stay in our houses due to his actions. We demand justice for his crimes."

Mahbub Siddique, former joint secretary of metropolitan unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, said, "Nezam framed me in several cases filed with Kotwali Police Station. He used to torture on BNP men and extort money from them."

Panchlaish Police Station OC Md Solaiman and Panchlaish Zone Assistant Commissioner Arif Hossain declined to comment on the matter.