Swechchhasebak Dal man held from BNP leader’s home

Police allegedly assaulted a Swechchhasebak Dal leader before arresting him from a BNP leader's house in Manikganj Sadar upazila.

The law enforcers also allegedly broke two gates and the locks of the balcony of the house of advocate Saiful Islam Rimon, joint secretary of the upazila unit of BNP, at Berirchar village in the upazila early today.

Contacted, Saiful Islam said, "Around 2:45am, some 15-20 police members entered the house by breaking two gates and the lock of the balcony grille. They ransacked the almirah, beat up Ripon Mia, joint convener of Manikganj district unit of Swechchhasebak Dal, before arresting him."

Arrestee Ripon Mia, 35, of Sarupai village in the upazila, works for a private company in Mymensingh and lives there with his wife and daughter. On Thursday, he was spending the night with his friend Shakil, caretaker of Saiful's house, after he went to Manikganj to visit him, said his family.

"Ripon Mia was sleeping inside the house. Entering the house, the cops started looking for me. At one stage, they assaulted Ripon before arresting him," said Saiful.

The caretaker of the house, and a madrasa teacher, who also lives in the house, corroborated the same.

Manikganj Sadar OC Abdur Rauf Sarkar, however, refuted the allegations.

"Ripon Mia has been arrested based on specific information. The allegations of vandalism, or physical abuse are untrue. However, a search was conducted in all the rooms to see if there was anyone else," the OC said.