Police have arrested a union parishad chairman and his brother in Kushtia’s Bheramara upazila over allegations that they were secretly organising political activists and arranging to cook khichuri in connection with August 15.
The two men were detained at around 11.30pm on Friday, August 14, from an area beside Bahadurpur Union Parishad near Kuchiamora Bazar. Those arrested are Sohel Rana Paban, chairman of Bahadurpur Union Parishad and vice-president of the upazila unit of the Bangladesh Awami Jubo League, and his brother Rubel Mahmud Ratan. Police said Ratan had previously served as president of the Bahadurpur Union unit of the Bangladesh Awami Volunteer League.
According to police, the two brothers had allegedly been involved in political activities in secret for some time. Law-enforcement authorities reportedly received information that supporters were being brought together ahead of August 15. Acting on the information, officers conducted a raid in the area beside the union parishad office late on Friday night.
Police claimed that several activists were present at the location under the brothers’ leadership and that preparations were under way to cook khichuri. The gathering was allegedly linked to an August 15 political programme.
Members of Bheramara Police Station and personnel from the Kuchiamora police camp jointly carried out the operation. The two brothers were subsequently taken into custody and brought to the police station. Authorities said the next stage of the case would proceed in accordance with the law.
Mohammad Abdus Salam, in-charge of the Kuchiamora police camp, said officers had received information that Paban and Ratan were leading activists of the organisation whose activities have been prohibited and that they were cooking khichuri beside the union parishad office as part of preparations for August 15. Following the information, police launched the operation with assistance from Bheramara Police Station.
Bheramara Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Zahedur Rahman said the two arrested men were known to police as active leaders associated with the organisation. He said they were taken into custody after information emerged that they were attempting to organise supporters, with the authorities seeking to maintain public order.
The arrests have attracted attention locally because they came on the eve of August 15, a date that has traditionally carried considerable political significance in Bangladesh. Any political gathering around a sensitive date can draw heightened attention from law-enforcement agencies, particularly when authorities suspect that an organised activity could affect public order.
Police have not yet disclosed all details of the legal proceedings against the two men. The specific provisions under which action will be taken are expected to become clearer as the case progresses.
The accused brothers could not immediately be reached for comment, and their response to the allegations was therefore unavailable.
Law-enforcement officials said monitoring had been strengthened during the politically sensitive period to prevent any group from secretly organising in a manner that could lead to disorder. Following their arrest, the two brothers remained in police custody while the authorities began determining the next legal steps.
