Two BNP Workers Jailed in Case Over Snatching of Chhatra League Leader from Police in Ishwarganj

Police in Ishwarganj, Mymensingh, have arrested two BNP workers in a case filed over the snatching of Riazul Alam, also known as Shahin, a leader of the banned Chhatra League, from police custody. On Saturday afternoon, a court ordered the two men to be sent to jail.

The arrestees are Wasim Mia, 26, and Emdadul Haque, 45, both from Bairati village in Sarisha union of the upazila. Police said both men are BNP workers.

Earlier, on Friday midnight, Sub-Inspector Mazharul Islam of Ishwarganj Police Station filed the case as the plaintiff. The case named 18 people and listed another 25 to 30 unidentified persons as accused.

Riazul Alam, alias Shahin, is 30 years old. He is the number-one joint general secretary of the Ishwarganj upazila unit of Chhatra League and a resident of Bogaputa village in Sohagi union. The leader of the organisation, whose activities have been banned, had been under police surveillance for some time.

Police said three cases are pending against Riazul Alam at Ishwarganj Police Station: two under the Anti-Terrorism Act, filed on 12 August 2026 and 5 January 2025, and one under the narcotics law filed on 2 August 2016.

According to local sources, a football match between married and unmarried teams was held at 3pm on Friday at the Sarisha Dekuarchar Dakhil Madrasa field, organised by a group called Rongtorongo. Sarisha union BNP joint convener Emdadullah Khan Zaman inaugurated the match, and Chhatra League leader Riazul Alam was among those who came to watch.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Sub-Inspector Md Mazharul Islam of the Atharabari Rayerbazar police investigation centre raided the field. When Riazul Alam was arrested, several members of the Rongtorongo organisation obstructed the officers, and a scuffle broke out between police and people present at the scene.

Abul Kashem, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Ishwarganj Police Station, said Riazul faces several cases including narcotics and sabotage charges. When police moved to detain him, several local leaders and activists of the BNP and of the banned Awami League snatched him away. Initial information suggests local BNP leaders Swapan and Milon and several activists of the banned Awami League were among them, he said.

The officer added that although there was a scuffle, no police member was injured. Police did not get the chance to handcuff Riazul, and he was taken away before additional police personnel could reach the spot. Two people were arrested after the case was filed over the incident.

Sarisha union BNP joint convener Nur Ahammad, also known as Milon Mia, denied the allegation against him. He said he was not at the scene at the time and was at a tea stall some distance away, from where he saw the scuffle after police detained the young man. He claimed political rivals were deliberately spreading his name.

Harun Or Rashid Swapan, president of the Sarisha union unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, also rejected the allegation against him as false. He said his name was dragged into the incident out of personal enmity, and claimed he had repeatedly asked police to take the arrested man away.

Asked about the incident, Sarisha union BNP joint convener Emdadullah Khan Zaman said they were at the police station over the matter and would speak in detail later. Police said operations are continuing to re-arrest the fugitive Riazul Alam and to detain the other accused in the case.