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Published : 24 Dec 2025, 01:55 PM
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have arrested Ataur Rahman Bikrompuri, a religious speaker and political commentator who drew the spotlight following recent incidents.
According to the DMP, Ataur Rahman was apprehended in Narsingdi following a coordinated operation by Gazipur Metropolitan Police.
His followers began to write on Facebook about him on Tuesday night. Ataur was travelling in a bus outbound from Bhairab, which was intercepted for his arrest and detainment on a microbus, his followers claimed.
It was not immediately known whether any case has been filed against him or what the exact charges for his arrest are.
On Mar 7, a report by Dainik Manabzamin cited fact-checker and a Facebook post by journalist Qadaruddin Shishir, saying Ataur led efforts to forcibly free several individuals who had been detained at police stations following protests in front of Prothom Alo.
He also reportedly travelled from Jashore to Dhaka to lead the rescue of a woman harasser near Shahbagh.
Ataur is widely known for his religious sermons, online statements, and extremist rhetoric on social media.
Recently, in a Facebook post, he referred to the current Khatib of Baitul Mukarram Mosque Muhammad Abdul Malek as a hypocrite and a “dog of Taghut”. He also manages a Facebook page named “Anti Shatim Movement”, which on Feb 22 this year called for the killing of anyone labelled a “Shatim-e-Rasool”, one who insults the Prophet.
He routinely brands practising Muslims who uphold democratic values as “kafirs” in his posts and speeches, and has incited violence against atheists. While he denounces ISIS, he promotes Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as legitimate religious organisations.
In 2021, Ataur was arrested as a member of the Ansarullah Bangla Team. He later became a central coordinator of the impartial prison release movement, which campaigns for the release of detained extremists.
After the events of Aug 5, he reportedly mobilised his followers to question officials at Kashimpur Jail in an effort to free imprisoned militants.
