Two Awami League Leaders Arrested Over Past Attacks in Bogura

Police in Bogura have apprehended two local leaders affiliated with the now-proscribed Awami League in connection with separate violent incidents targeting opposition figures. The arrests stem from longstanding charges involving an assault on a parliamentary candidate’s motorcade and an attack on a local party office years prior.

Details of the Operations and Court Appearance

Officers from Dhunat Police Station detained the two men from their respective residences during a late-night operation. By the following afternoon, both suspects were produced before the local judiciary and subsequently remanded to the Bogura district jail pending further legal proceedings.

The detained individuals have been identified as Lablu Khandaker, 38, the legal affairs secretary of the Dhunat Upazila Awami League and a resident of Zolagati village, alongside Nazrul Islam Mithu, 50, the joint general secretary of the Kalepara Union Awami League from Arkatiagram village.

Background of the Legal Cases

The first case dates back to the parliamentary election campaign of December 2018. On that occasion, a major campaign procession led by Golam Mohammad Siraj, the candidate representing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was targeted in the Kalapatti area of Dhunat.

According to police records and the initial complaint filed by former upazila BNP general secretary Rafiqul Islam Shaheen, the convoy faced severe hostility. The incident resulted in extensive vandalism, leaving two jeeps and two microbuses severely damaged, while ten motorcycles were torched. Lablu Khandaker was named directly in this case as an enlisted accused.

The second legal matter stems from a clash on 7 June 2023, in the West Bharonshahi neighbourhood of Dhunat municipality, where a BNP workers’ meeting was disrupted. Investigators noted that activists from associated student and youth wings detonated handmade explosive devices, known locally as crude bombs, and vandalised a local party office.

Although the incident occurred in mid-2023, a formal complaint was lodged later by Ashadul Islam, the joint general secretary of the upazila Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, on 26 January 2025. Nazrul Islam Mithu was taken into custody as a suspected individual linked to this specific episode of violence.

Ongoing Law Enforcement Efforts

Local law enforcement authorities have confirmed that the investigation remains active as they pursue other individuals implicated in both files. Officer-in-Charge Atikul Islam of Dhunat Police Station stated that operations are continuing across the region to locate and detain remaining suspects who managed to evade initial capture during Thursday night’s raids.