Kazi Al Tariq, president of the Panchagarh municipal unit of the now-banned Bangladesh Awami League and a former vice-chairman of Panchagarh Sadar Upazila Parishad, has been arrested by the district Detective Branch while travelling by bus towards Dhaka.
Tariq, 44, was arrested at around 2am on Friday, 7 August, in the Birampur area of Dinajpur district. Police subsequently took him to Panchagarh Sadar Police Station. Later that afternoon, Senior Judicial Magistrate ASM Sajjad Hossain ordered that he be sent to jail custody.
Tariq, a resident of Ramer Danga in Panchagarh municipality, is facing several cases at Panchagarh Sadar Police Station, according to police. These include a case concerning an alleged attack during the anti-discrimination student movement and a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Police said he was named as an accused in the cases and was also wanted under an arrest warrant.
According to a statement issued by Panchagarh District Police on Friday afternoon, the Detective Branch received information at around 7.30pm on Thursday, based on intelligence and information obtained through technological means, that Tariq was travelling towards Dhaka.
Police said Tariq had reportedly left Pirganj in Thakurgaon district by bus and was travelling through Birampur in Dinajpur on his way to the capital. Acting on the information, a team from the district Detective Branch took position near the Birampur bus terminal.
The team received assistance from the highway patrol unit of Birampur Police Station. Officers stopped a Dhaka-bound bus named ‘Ahad’ and conducted a search. Tariq was identified and arrested from the moving bus at about 2am.
Following his arrest, he was taken to Panchagarh Sadar Police Station for further legal procedures. Police later produced him before the court on Friday afternoon. The court subsequently ordered that he be sent to jail custody.
Tariq previously served as vice-chairman of Panchagarh Sadar Upazila Parishad and currently holds the position of president of the Panchagarh municipal Awami League unit. His arrest comes in connection with multiple cases filed at the local police station, including allegations linked to violence during the anti-discrimination student movement.
Panchagarh Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mokhlesur Rahman confirmed Tariq’s arrest and said he had subsequently been sent to jail custody following the court order.
The allegations against Tariq remain subject to the judicial process. His arrest and detention do not, by themselves, establish his guilt, which will be determined through the relevant legal proceedings.
