Faridpur OC withdrawn, cases filed over attack on student leader

Three cases have been filed and the officer-in-charge (OC) of Nagarkanda Police Station in Faridpur has been withdrawn following the attack on Baishakhi Islam Brishti, an organiser of the Students Against Discrimination.

The incident took place on Friday evening in Bhubokdia area of Dangi union under Nagarkanda upazila, when Baishakhi, a college examinee at Government Rajendra College, was reportedly assaulted near her house after lodging a complaint against local youth Sharif Bepari, 21, for allegedly harassing her sister.

Later that night, Baishakhi went live on Facebook, accusing local BNP members of attacking her.

"They dragged me onto the road, beat me up, pulled my hair, and kicked me," she said.

However, Badiuzzaman Molla, joint general secretary of Nagarkanda upazila BNP, denied the allegation. "Both the complainant and the accused are from Awami League-aligned families. This incident has nothing to do with the BNP."

Confirming the development, Additional Superintendent of Police (Admin & Crime) Md Shamsul Azam said OC Md Safor Ali has been attached to the Faridpur Police Lines for administrative reasons.

"The decision was made today [yesterday] by the superintendent of police," he added.

Safor Ali had joined as OC of Nagarkanda in September 2024.

According to Nagarkanda police sources, three separate cases were filed over the incident. Baishakhi herself filed two cases under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and for the attack on her residence, naming five individuals and accusing several unidentified others.

A third case was filed by Sub-Inspector Aminur Rahman over an alleged attack on police personnel during a subsequent confrontation. This case lists 35 named accused and 250–300 unidentified persons.

Amirul Islam, second officer of Nagarkanda Police Station, confirmed that six individuals arrested on Friday night were shown as accused in all three cases and have been sent to jail through court.

The arrestees are Arif Hossain, 23, Md Azizul Sheikh, 15, Sharif Sheikh, 19, Sajib Sheikh, 24, and Sajjad Sheikh, 16.

"We will seek remand for further interrogation, if needed," he said.