A court on Sunday granted bail to Mahdi Hasan, Habiganj district general secretary of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, on a bond of Tk200 following controversy over remarks he made about the police while inside a police station.
He was produced before the court of Habiganj Judicial Magistrate Abdul Mannan at 7:20am after being taken from Habiganj Sadar Model Police Station. After the hearing, the court granted him bail.
Earlier on Saturday evening around 7:30pm, Mahdi Hasan was detained from a residence in the Shaistagnagar area of Habiganj town by individuals identifying themselves as members of the Detective Branch police.
Later, he was shown arrested as the principal accused in a case filed by SI Jahirul Islam of Shaistaganj Police Station on charges of obstructing police duties and threatening government officials engaged in official work. The case also named 20 unidentified individuals as accused.
Senior Habiganj lawyer Abdul Majid confirmed the matter of the case.
Mahdi Hasan is the member secretary of the Habiganj district unit of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. He is a first-year undergraduate student at Habiganj Brindaban Government College and hails from the Bhadoi area of Habiganj Sadar upazila.
After news of his detention spread, leaders and activists of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement gathered in front of Habiganj Sadar Model Police Station demanding his release. To maintain law and order, members of the army, RAB and additional police personnel were deployed in front of the station.
Notably, on Friday afternoon, Mahdi Hasan became involved in a heated argument with Officer-in-Charge Abul Kalam inside Shaistaganj Police Station while attempting to secure the release of Enamul Hasan Nayan, a July movement activist and former Chhatra League leader. In a video, Mahdi Hasan is heard making threatening remarks against the administration, which sparked widespread discussion and criticism.
In the video, he is heard telling the OC: “Through the July movement, we formed the government. You are officials of our administration. You arrested our people and brought them here and then you are bargaining with us. You (OC) said, ‘So what if he is an activist?’”
At one point, Mahdi Hasan says: "We burned down Baniachang Police Station and set fire to SI Santosh. From that position, how did he (OC) have the courage to say this? I have come here strictly. Did we come with so many people just like that?”
After the video went viral, it triggered widespread criticism across the country.