A senior local leader of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) has been arrested in Nandigram, Bogra, after elite crime-busting unit Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) intercepted him with a consignment of 1,200 Yaba tablets. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Robiul Islam, served as the Vice-President of the Nandigram Upazila unit of the student organisation affiliated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Law enforcement personnel also seized 3,150 taka in cash believed to be proceeds from illicit drug sales during the operation.
The arrest took place on Tuesday (25 August) at approximately 9:00 pm along the Nundah-Muradpur road within Nandigram upazila.
According to sources from RAB-12, a mobile patrol team stationed near the Nandigram bus stand acted on a confidential tip-off regarding an incoming drug transport. Operatives swiftly established an emergency security checkpoint on the Nundah-Muradpur thoroughfare. Shortly afterwards, an unregistered auto-rickshaw carrying Robiul as its sole passenger approached the blockade. RAB officers signalled the vehicle to pull over for routine inspection.
Upon intercepting the vehicle, officers questioned Robiul after noticing suspicious behaviour and erratic responses. Under interrogation on the spot, Robiul eventually confessed to carrying banned narcotics inside his personal bag. A search of the bag yielded 1,200 methamphetamine-based Yaba pills packaged for distribution, alongside cash gathered from previous transactions.
The news of the arrest triggered immediate administrative fallout within local political circles. Addressing the incident, Mustafizur Rahman Tarek, General Secretary of the Nandigram Upazila Chhatra Dal, confirmed Robiul’s official position within the executive committee. However, he distanced the organisation from the criminal allegations, stating that the party will not take responsibility for an individual’s personal misconduct. Tarek added that formal steps had already been initiated to expel Robiul permanently from the organisation to uphold party discipline.
Providing legal details of the prosecution, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Nandigram Police Station, Tarikul Islam, confirmed that RAB filed a formal case against Robiul Islam under the Narcotics Control Act. Following initial processing and interrogation, the suspect was produced before a local court on Wednesday (26 August), which ordered him to be remanded in custody at the Bogra District Jail pending further judicial proceedings.
