Four police officers attached to Pirgachha Police Station in Rangpur have been removed from active duty and reassigned to district police lines following the death of a student wing politician during a raid to locate a missing teenage girl.
Selim Malik, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Pirgachha Police Station, confirmed the administrative action on Monday afternoon, 10 August. The personnel ordered to report to Rangpur Police Lines include Sub-Inspector Kanak Ranjan Barman, Assistant Sub-Inspector Osman Ali, and Constables Prashanta Kumar and Sumi Akter. The withdrawal was enacted late Saturday night as departmental inquiries got underway.
Missing Teenager Investigation Leads to Fatal Savar Operation
The sequence of events began on 23 July, when 15-year-old Mimi Akter disappeared from Monglakuti village within the Kaikuri Union of Pirgachha Upazila. Her father, Shafiqul Islam Mintu, subsequently filed a General Diary with Pirgachha Police Station seeking assistance to locate his daughter.
Using digital tracking methods, a team led by SI Kanak Ranjan Barman traced the teenager to the staff quarters of the Public Administration Training Centre in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. On Thursday night, the officers launched an operation at the site.
Police maintain that officers were stationed on the ground floor when they heard a heavy impact from above. Upon investigation, they found a young man critically injured on the pavement. The individual was identified as Monowarul Islam Bokshi, Vice-President of the Savar Upazila unit of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Monowarul, son of Zafar Bokshi from South Hatibandha village in Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Upazila, was rushed to a local hospital, where he died whilst undergoing emergency treatment.
Murder Allegations and Public Protests Trigger Investigations
Monowarul’s family and political associates strongly dispute the official police narrative. Relatives allege that officers threw him from the building’s roof, characterizing his death as a deliberate killing rather than a fall during an attempted escape.
News of the incident sparked immediate local unrest. On Saturday morning, grieving family members, residents, and JCD activists blockaded Pirgachha Police Station, chanting slogans and demanding immediate legal action against the raiding team. Tensions eased after Aminul Islam Ranga, President of the Pirgachha Upazila BNP unit, stepped in to calm the crowd and facilitate dialogue with senior law enforcement officials.
Two separate inquiry panels—one operating out of Dhaka and the other from Rangpur—have been established to determine the exact circumstances leading to Monowarul’s fatal fall.
“Four officers who participated in the Savar operation have been temporarily attached to police lines. Should the ongoing investigations verify the allegations against them, departmental and legal measures will be enforced immediately.”
— Selim Malik, Officer-
