A 16-year-old boy was reportedly taken into custody by the Detective Branch (DB) of police during an operation at his family home in Barishal, where officers were looking for his father, Enamul Haque Bahar, a former panel mayor of Barishal City Corporation and an Awami League leader.
The incident took place on Monday (21 September) afternoon in Titimur Lane of Dargabari Road in Ward 23 of Barishal city. A video showing the teenager being taken away by men in plain clothes later circulated widely on social media, prompting discussion and concern among local residents.
The teenager, Baftin Ahmed Jihan, 16, passed his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination this year from Barishal Zilla School. His mother, Sathi Akter, alleged that DB officers went to their home to arrest her husband while he was away attending Zuhr prayers at a mosque.
According to Sathi, Bahar is currently on bail in all the political cases filed against him. She said the family had documents relating to the bail orders and informed the police of his legal status when officers arrived at the house.
She alleged that after failing to find Bahar, the officers attempted to take Jihan with them. Sathi said she tried to prevent them from taking her son and told them that her husband was on bail. Despite this, she claimed, three DB officers took the teenager away.
A 1-minute-and-14-second video circulating on social media appears to show several men in plain clothes pulling Jihan towards a vehicle. His mother can be seen attempting to intervene as people gather around the scene amid shouting and commotion. At one point, Sathi appears to fall to the ground following the confrontation. The teenager was subsequently taken away in a police pickup, according to the footage.
Speaking about the incident, Sathi said her husband had gone to a mosque to offer the Zuhr prayer when the police arrived at their home. She alleged that officers tried to take her son after failing to locate Bahar and that she was pushed to the ground when she attempted to stop them.
The allegations have drawn attention because the person the police were reportedly looking for was Bahar, while the person taken away from the house was his teenage son. However, the circumstances surrounding the detention, including the legal basis for taking the teenager into custody and whether any specific allegation had been made against him, were not immediately clear.
Efforts were made to obtain a response from Azimul Karim, officer-in-charge of the Barishal Metropolitan DB Police, regarding the incident. However, he did not answer his mobile phone, and no comment could therefore be obtained from him.
Kotwali Model Police Station officer-in-charge Al Mamun Ul Islam said he had heard that DB police had taken a teenager from the Ward 23 area. He added that the boy had not yet been handed over to the police station at the time of his statement.
The video has since brought renewed attention to the incident, with residents seeking clarification about what prompted the police action and what happened to the teenager after he was taken away. A clear account from the DB police regarding the operation and Jihan’s status would be necessary to establish the full circumstances of the case.
