Former Hathazari OC remanded over killing of Hifazat activist

Rafiqul Islam has been named the main accused in a case over the 2021 killing of a Hifazat activist

Police have arrested the former Hathazari Police Station chief and taken him into remand over the killing of a madrasa student during a Hifazat-e Islam protest in Chattogram against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit for Bangladesh's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Rafiqul Islam was arrested in Dhaka on Thursday night, said Hathazari Police Station’s current officer-in-charge Habibur Rahman.

On Friday afternoon, police produced him before a Chattogram court and sought a seven-day remand for questioning. After a hearing, the judge granted a three-day remand.

On Mar 26, 2021, Modi was set to attend the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh’s Independence Day. However, Hifazat-e Islam held protests in Hathazari opposing his visit.

During the protests, several government installations, including a police station, were attacked.

Four Hifazat activists were killed in clashes with police, according to the Qawmi madrasa-based organisation.

One of the dead was Rabiul Islam, a Dawra-e-Hadith examinee from the Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Uloom Muinul Islam, popularly known as Hathazari Boro Madrasa.

His father, Abdul Jabbar, filed a case on Aug 23, three and a half years after the incident.

In the case, then chief of the police station Rafiqul was named the main accused.

The case also named 28 other accused, including Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandari, president of the Tariqat Federation and former MP of Fatikchhari, and former superintendent of Chattogram Police SM Rashidul Haque.

Two former Hifazat leaders and local leaders of the Awami League were also included in the list of accused.

Former joint secretary generals of Hifazat-e Islam, Maulana Moinuddin Ruhi and Maulana Salim Ullah, were also named as accused, along with 100 to 150 unidentified individuals.

The case statement alleges: "A protest march was organised on Mar 26, 2021, at Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Dhaka against Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh. 'Armed personnel of the then government' attacked the procession, causing many casualties.

"In response, a march was held in Hathazari after Friday prayers, where Rabiul joined with his friends. Later, he was shot dead by police. Attempts to file a general diary (GD) or case at the police station were thwarted, and no assistance was provided; instead, intimidation was used."