A BNP leader dies while in army custody

Chowdhury, Jashore – Shamsuzzaman Dabla, General Secretary of the BNP’s Jibannagar municipal unit in Chuadanga, tragically died while in the custody of the Bangladesh Army. The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, 12 January, at approximately 1:00 am. His body is currently held at Jibannagar Upazila Health Complex.

The military has claimed that arms were recovered from Dabla during their operation.

Eyewitness accounts and local BNP activists have described the sequence of events leading to Dabla’s death. According to several leaders present near the Upazila Health Complex, he was initially detained at his business, Hafiza Pharmacy, located near the health complex, around 10:00 pm on Sunday night. Reports suggest that news of his death reached the area around 12:30 am.

Shariful Islam Kajol, the Upazila Forest Officer and brother of the deceased, expressed his grief and alleged that his brother had been killed. Similarly, Rimon, the Member Secretary of the Upazila Chhatra Dal, claimed that the family had been subjected to severe assault on the previous Saturday night, including physical beatings.

No official comment has been obtained from the Bangladesh Army regarding these allegations, although they maintain that arms were found in Dabla’s possession.

Upon receiving the news, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, President of BGBEA and Chuadanga District BNP, as well as the BNP candidate for Chuadanga-2, visited the site. Addressing the gathered leaders and supporters, he urged calm, warning against taking the law into their own hands. He also confirmed that Dabla’s family would file a legal case regarding the incident.

Tensions ran high throughout the night. By 9:00 am on Monday, Dabla’s body remained inside the Jibannagar Upazila Health Complex under military guard, while hundreds of local residents protested outside, burning tyres on the road in demonstration.

For clarity, the timeline of events is summarised below:

The incident has ignited widespread concern in Chuadanga, highlighting tensions between local political factions and security forces. BNP leaders have called for an impartial investigation into the circumstances of Dabla’s death.