Police in Rajshahi’s Tanore upazila have arrested Palash Ali, a 30-year-old local leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), in connection with a case alleging the attempted rape of a female colleague. Officers detained Palash, who serves as the Organising Secretary of the party’s Tanore upazila unit and hails from Pranpur village, during an operation on Wednesday (11 November). The arrest has sparked considerable discussion across local political and social circles.
Confirming the arrest, Mahmudul Hasan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Tanore Police Station, stated that law enforcement acted upon an active arrest warrant issued by a court against the accused. Following initial custody procedures at the station overnight, police produced Palash before the court on Thursday morning.
According to the case statement, Palash Ali is employed at a private organisation alongside the 27-year-old complainant. The victim alleged that on the night of 2 September, at approximately 9:00 pm, Palash attempted to sexually assault her whilst they were returning after collecting loan instalments. Seeking legal redress, the woman subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the court, prompting the judicial authority to issue the warrant for his arrest.
News of the arrest has elicited contrasting responses from within the National Citizen Party’s regional leadership. Nahidul Islam Saju, Member Secretary of the NCP’s Rajshahi district committee, noted that he had limited familiarity with the Tanore committee. He explained that responsible figures in the upazila had been informed and asked to verify the accurate details of the incident, affirming that strict organisational measures would be taken should the allegations prove true.
Conversely, local party officials dismissed the charges as a conspiracy. Contacted for comment, Morshed Ali, Secretary of the NCP’s Tanore upazila branch, contended that Palash had worked at the private organisation prior to joining their political platform. He claimed that adversaries had filed a fabricated case to frame Palash over an earlier dispute at that workplace, adding that the local unit intends to protest against what they described as a false accusation.
