Former MP and Jubo League presidium member Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury, better known as Nixon Chowdhury, has been named the prime accused in a case filed over the attack and vandalism at Bhanga police station in Faridpur.
Sub-inspector Azaduzzaman of Bhanga police station filed the case on Tuesday, said Faridpur Additional Superintendent of Police (admin and finance) Shamsul Azam on Tuesday.
Nixon, a former lawmaker from Faridpur-4 — which covers Bhanga Sadar and Charbhadrasan — heads a list of 29 named accused, with many more unidentified individuals included.
The second accused is Khokon Mia, chairman of Hamirdi union parishad. The case stated that the attack caused property damage worth Tk 40 lakh.
Police earlier arrested Algi Union Chairman MM Siddiq under the speedy trial law in connection with another case linked to the ongoing unrest.
Tensions erupted after the Election Commission issued a gazette notification on September 4, transferring Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila from Faridpur-4 to Faridpur-2, alongside Nagarkanda and Saltha.
Protesting the decision, locals blocked the Dhaka–Khulna and Dhaka–Barisal highways on September 5. Following assurances from the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the blockade was suspended for three days. However, demonstrations resumed between September 9–11 and September 14–16.
On Sunday, protesters blocked the railway line, leaving three trains stranded at Hamirdi, Bhanga Junction and Rajbari, disrupting hundreds of passengers. That same day, the home adviser announced measures to suppress the agitation, and a case under the speedy trial law was filed against 90 people, including the chairmen of Algi and Hamirdi unions.
On Monday, during the second day of a renewed blockade, protesters attacked Bhanga police station, the Upazila Complex, Bhanga Highway police station and several government offices, vandalizing and setting parts of them on fire.
Faridpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Kamrul Hasan Molla said preparations were also underway to file a case over the violence at the Bhanga Upazila Complex.
