Eleven Arrested After Mosque Loudspeaker Incites Attack On Police

Eleven individuals, including a female schoolteacher, have been arrested by joint law enforcement forces in Sujanagar, Pabna, following a violent assault on police officers that was instigated via a mosque loudspeaker. The arrests were made during a coordinated overnight operation spanning Friday night to Saturday morning in Mathurapur village, located within the Bhayna union of the upazila. The detained teacher has been identified as Afroza Shikha, an assistant teacher at Mathurapur High School.

According to police sources, the unrest began on Wednesday night, 15 July. Law enforcement officials had received intelligence that leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliate organisations were gathering in Mathurapur village under the guise of World Cup football screenings to plan acts of sabotage. Acting on this specific information, a police team conducted a raid in the village.

Upon noticing the arrival of the police, local supporters of the banned political outfit and their associates allegedly used the loudspeaker of a local mosque to rally the villagers against the officers. Instigated by the announcements, hundreds of locals and activists armed with sticks and domestic weapons launched a sudden attack on the law enforcement team.

The mob vandalised two police vehicles and assaulted the officers on duty. Two personnel suffered injuries, including the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sujanagar Police Station, Md Mozaffar Hossain, who sustained severe trauma. Due to the gravity of his condition, he was rushed to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment, where he remains hospitalised.

Following the violence, authorities took a firm stance, and two separate cases were registered regarding the obstruction of government duties, vandalism, and assault. The Assistant Superintendent of Pabna Police (Sujanagar Circle), Sadik Ahmed, stated that intelligence surveillance was immediately intensified to identify the perpetrators.

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Pabna Police, led by OC Rashidul Islam, subsequently launched a midnight clean-up operation alongside local police, culminating in the eleven arrests. Security measures have been heightened in the area to prevent further escalation, and the suspects have been sent to judicial custody as the investigation continues to trace others involved in the conspiracy.