SI Sukanta arrested in Chuadanga amid protest

Sub-Inspector (SI) Sukanta Kumar Das has been arrested in Chuadanga, amid protest by locals following his release from police custody.

He was stationed at Alamdanga Police Station in Chuadanga.

A joint team comprising personnel from the Police Headquarters, Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), and Chuadanga District Police made the arrest, KMP Commissioner Julfikar Ali Haider confirmed.

"There is one case filed against him with Khulna Sadar Police Station, and another is pending in court," he said.

Md Ahsan Habib, additional deputy police commissioner of KMP, said necessary procedures are underway to produce him before the court in compliance with the rules and regulations regarding the arrest of government employees.

According to the protesters, locals caught SI Sukanta in Eastern Gate area of Khulna city on Tuesday and handed him over to police "for brutally assaulting students and civilians during the July uprising in Khulna".

He was handed over to Khanjahan Ali Police Station but was subsequently released.

The protesters claimed that he was released the same night without being arrested even though he is accused in several cases.

Sukanta had previously faced multiple allegations of carrying out mass arrests and repression against students and civilians during the July uprising.

Several court cases were filed against him in court.

His release from police custody prompted members of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), to lay siege to the KMP headquarters yesterday.

The protesters locked the main gate, preventing officials from leaving the premises until around 9:30pm, when the blockade was lifted.

The student groups also announced a renewed protest programme to besiege the KMP headquarters from 3:30pm today. However, as of 3:40pm, the demonstration had not yet begun.