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Published : 05 Oct 2025, 02:59 PM
A Dhaka court has sent North South University student Apurbo Pal to jail in a case filed over allegations that he insulted the Quran, the holy book of Islam.
The order was issued on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman following a petition from police, according to Prosecution Sub-Inspector Zakir Hossain.
In its submission, police said there was evidence suggesting Apurbo's involvement in actions that showed disrespect towards the holy book. They told the court that during questioning, he admitted to dropping a copy of the Quran on the floor and stepping on it, an act police said had hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims.
The petition added that the investigation was still under way, and police might later seek to take him on remand for further questioning. It noted that there was a risk of Apurbo fleeing if he were granted bail.
The magistrate subsequently rejected Apurbo's bail plea and ordered that he be sent to jail.
On Saturday night, a video began spreading on Facebook with different posts claiming that Apurbo had insulted the Quran. His Facebook post was shared and demands for his arrest grew louder. A group of agitated people then began to gather outside Apurbo's house around 1am on Sunday.
Vatara police attempted to go to the house and take him into custody when the incident was reported. Police initially requested the support of those who had gathered in the area to take Apurbo into custody. They agreed.
When police detained Apurbo and attempted to take him to the police station, the agitated crowd began beating him. When the police tried to calm the mob, they grew angry at the law enforcers. The situation went out of control and additional police personnel were called to the scene.
Around 2:30am, Vatara Police Station's Sub-Inspector Kamruzzaman said: “We tried to take him into custody. But it was not possible due to the size of the crowd and their obstructions. Afterwards we increased the size of the force and attempted to bring him out.”
Police were eventually able to take Apurbo into custody around 2:45am as people attempted to beat him.
OC Rakibul said, "We have found evidence in several videos on his Facebook ID of him disrespecting the Quran after the incident was reported. But when we went to detain him, we faced an agitated mob.”
Apurbo lived with his family at the house and the family is now safe, he said.
According to Asif Bin Ali, a lecturer at NSU’s Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Apurbo was a student of the department but had been expelled.
