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Published : 09 Jun 2026, 12:20 AM
bdnews24.com's Benapole correspondent Mohammad Asaduzzaman has been taken from his home in the middle of the night and sent to jail after police identified him as an Awami League leader in a case filed under the Special Powers Act.
In the application seeking his detention, police said that he was Mohammad Asaduzzaman Asad, organising secretary of the Sharsha Upazila Awami League.
However, family members and lawyers say the arrested man is a former instructor at Sharsha Government Women's College who also works as a journalist.
They say he once served as education affairs secretary of the Upazila Awami League committee but never held the post of organising secretary.
The actual organising secretary of the Sharsha Upazila Awami League is also named Asaduzzaman Asad.
He previously served as assistant private secretary to former Jashore-1 lawmaker Sheikh Afil Uddin.
According to the family, police showed the journalist arrested in a 2025 case after confusing him with the political leader because of the similarity in their names.
When he was produced before a Jashore court on Monday afternoon, Additional Senior Judicial Magistrate Asadul Islam rejected his bail petition and ordered him to jail.
The arrest sparked anger among local journalists, who staged a sit-in programme outside Sharsha Police Station from morning until noon, demanding his immediate release.
Arrested in the Dead of Night
Assistant Sub-Inspector Ohid, identified by a single name, of Sharsha Police Station said Asaduzzaman was arrested at his home in Jamtala village in the small hours of Monday.
When asked for more details, he referred reporters to the police station chief.
Asaduzzaman's sister, Shilpi Begum, alleged that police entered the family compound around 2am after climbing over the boundary wall and then forced the family to open the door.
She said officers were unable to show any documents or provide a satisfactory explanation when asked why they were taking her brother away.
"When my nephew Shahriar Sadab Torongo protested and asked why he was being taken away without any case, police assaulted him and took him into custody as well," she alleged.
News of the arrest prompted journalists from Sharsha and Benapole to gather outside the police station on Monday morning.
Jamal Hossain, Benapole correspondent for Ekushey Television, said police had detained the journalist believing him to be Asaduzzaman Asad, the former APS to ex-MP Afil.
"Now they appear to have realised the mistake, but they are still not releasing him," he said.
Shilpi said her brother had once been involved in local Awami League politics while teaching at the college and had served as education affairs secretary of the Upazila committee.
However, she said after the college was nationalised in April 2023, he no longer held that party position. By then, the term of the committee had already expired.
She said that following the fall of the Awami League government, he formally resigned even from the party's primary membership and executed an affidavit through a Jashore notary public documenting that decision.
According to her, the family showed those documents to police, but officers still identified him as Awami League leader Asaduzzaman.
Asked about the matter, Sharsha Police chief Maruf Hossain said: "Asaduzzaman Asad served as the organising secretary of the Upazila Awami League. He was arrested over allegations of recent anti-government activities and planning sabotage."
Questions Surrounding the Case
The case in which Asaduzzaman was shown arrested was filed at Sharsha Police Station on Oct 1, 2025, by Ainal Haque, president of Ward No. 4 of Sharsha Union BNP.
According to the complaint, local Chhatra League activists and members of Awami League-affiliated organisations obstructed traffic while celebrating former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's birthday on Sept 28 that year.
The complaint also alleged that they shouted anti-government slogans, attempted to damage roads and culverts and caused damage to state property.
Seven local Awami League figures were named in the case along with 20 to 25 unidentified individuals.
However, none of the seven named in the case was called Asaduzzaman.
Speaking to bdnews24.com from Dhaka on Monday night, complainant Ainal said he had not personally witnessed the incidents described in the case.
Instead, he said police and BNP leaders had summoned him to the police station, shown him videos of the incidents on Facebook and asked him to file a case.
He said he filed the case accordingly.
Responding to questions from bdnews24.com, Ainal said he did not know journalist and former college instructor Mohammad Asaduzzaman.
However, he said he knew Asaduzzaman Asad, the former APS to Afil, and considered him the principal figure behind the incidents referred to in the complaint.
He added that the political leader had not been seen in the area since Aug 5.
Bail Denied, Sent to Jail
While journalists continued their protest outside Sharsha Police Station, police transported Asaduzzaman to Jashore court around midday on Monday.
He arrived at the court premises at about 3pm and was produced before the Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court around 4pm after being shown arrested in the 2025 Special Powers Act case.
His lawyer, Sazzad Hossain Pappu, submitted a bail petition, while the investigating officer, SI Chiranjeet Mondal, applied keep him in custody.
After hearing both sides, Additional Senior Judicial Magistrate Asadul Islam ordered that Asaduzzaman be sent to jail. Police later transferred him to Jashore District Jail.
"Journalist Asaduzzaman is the victim of a conspiracy. He has been framed," Pappu said.
"We will submit, at the next hearing on Thursday, documents showing that he formally withdrew from politics."
Police also arrested Hasan Firoz Ahmed Tinku, former chairman of Kayba Union Parishad and president of the Kayba Union Awami League, in the same case that night.
The two men were taken to court together on Monday, handcuffed side by side, a sight that triggered further anger among journalists.
Journalists Condemn Arrest
Journalists across the Upazila staged a protest programme on the Sharsha Police Station premises from morning until noon on Monday.
Benapole Port Press Club, Sharsha Press Club, Press Club Benapole, Border Press Club and the Upazila Journalists Unity Council all condemned the arrest and demanded Asaduzzaman's release.
Azizul Haque, general secretary of Benapole Port Press Club and a staff reporter for Somoy TV, said: "Seeing handcuffs on a journalist is deeply painful. Journalists hold pens to expose irregularities and wrongdoing in society. Putting handcuffs on those hands is not only distressing for the media community but also raises questions for the state."
Bakul Mahbub, Benapole correspondent for News24 Television and Bangladesh Pratidin and general secretary of Benapole Press Club, said the incident had raised fresh concerns about journalists' freedom and security.
During discussions with reporters, Assistant Superintendent of Police Arif Hossain said: "We will try to resolve the matter quickly through the legal process. The issue is being treated seriously."
