Mohammad Arifuzzaman, a Bangladeshi assistant superintendent of police (ASP) accused in the murder of Abu Syed, has been detained in India for illegally entering the country.
He has been placed under 14 days of judicial custody by a West Bengal court.
On Saturday night, he was arrested by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at the Bithari border in Swarupnagar Thana of North 24 Parganas district. Later, he was handed over to the Swarupnagar police station, according to the BBC.
The officer had been working in Rangpur last year and had been absent from his workplace since August 14 last 2024. During this period, he was transferred to the post of assistant police commissioner of APBn-2 in Mymensingh’s Muktagachha, but did not report to his new posting.
Earlier, on August 14, the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs suspended him for misconduct and desertion due to unauthorized absence from his workplace.
Abu Sayed was shot dead by police on July 16 last year in front of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur during an anti-discrimination student movement. He was a student of the English Department for the 2019–20 academic year and a key coordinator of the movement.
Following his death, Abu Sayed’s elder brother, Ramzan Ali, filed a murder case on August 18, 2024, at the Rangpur Metropolitan Magistrate Court. The case names 17 individuals and lists an additional 30–35 unknown persons as accused.
