Four Officers Withdrawn Following Death of Youth Leader in Raid

Four police officers stationed at Pirgachha Police Station in Rangpur have been attached to the district police lines following the tragic death of a student wing politician during a rescue operation for a missing teenage girl.

The administrative action was confirmed on the afternoon of Monday, 10 August, by Selim Malik, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pirgachha Police Station. The reassigned personnel include Sub-Inspector (SI) Kanak Ranjan Barman, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Osman Ali, and Constables Prashanta Kumar and Sumi Akter. All four officers were formally withdrawn from operational duty and ordered to report to the Rangpur Police Lines late on Saturday night pending the outcome of formal inquiries.

Background and the Savar Raid

The events leading to the officers’ withdrawal began on 23 July, when 15-year-old Mimi Akter went missing from Monglakuti village in the Kaikuri Union of Pirgachha Upazila. Following her disappearance, the teenager’s father, Shafiqul Islam Mintu, lodged a General Diary (GD) with the local police station, requesting assistance in locating his daughter.

Utilising technological tracking tools, a specialized team from Pirgachha Police Station led by SI Kanak Ranjan Barman pinpointed the missing girl’s location in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. On Thursday night, the police team executed a targeted raid at the staff quarters of the Public Administration Training Centre in Savar.

According to the official account provided by the police, officers were positioned on the ground floor of the residential building during the raid when they heard a heavy thud from above. Investigating the sound, officers discovered a young man lying severely injured on the ground.

The victim was identified as Monowarul Islam Bokshi, the Vice-President of the Savar Upazila unit of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD)—the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Monowarul, the son of Zafar Bokshi, originally hailed from South Hatibandha village in the Bamandanga Union of Sundarganj Upazila, Gaibandha. Emergency medical assistance was sought immediately, but Monowarul succumbed to his extensive injuries whilst receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Murder Allegations, Local Unrest, and Parallel Enquiries

Monowarul’s family and political colleagues fiercely contest the police version of events. Relatives explicitly accused the raiding team of pushing the young politician off the roof of the building, alleging that his death was a deliberate act of homicide rather than an accident or an attempted escape.

News of Monowarul’s death sparked immediate outrage in Pirgachha. On Saturday morning, aggrieved relatives, local residents, and political activists gathered outside Pirgachha Police Station, encircling the compound and staging vocal demonstrations to demand justice. The situation threatened to spiral into widespread civil disruption before Aminul Islam Ranga, President of the Pirgachha Upazila BNP unit, intervened to mediate with law enforcement and restore order among the crowd.

OC Selim Malik confirmed that two independent departmental investigation committees have been formed—one based in Dhaka and the other in Rangpur—to conduct a thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident.

“Four officers from Pirgachha Police Station who took part in the Savar operation have been temporarily attached to the police lines. If the ongoing investigations substantiate the allegations raised against them, strict departmental and legal action will be initiated without hesitation.”

— Selim Malik, Officer-in-Charge, Pirgachha Police Station