Islami Chhatra Shibir has denied that Abu Bakar Siddique, 22, detained over a Facebook comment about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to Rajshahi, is a member of the organization.
Imran Nazir, president of the Rajshahi metropolitan unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir, said: “There is an attempt to put the blame on Shibir whenever something happens. But Abu Bakar Siddique is not one of our members.”
Abu Bakar was detained on Wednesday afternoon at his maternal uncle’s house in Gholharia village in Hatrāmchandrapur, Paba upazila, Rajshahi. His father, Ainal Haque, was also detained during the operation. Both are now in the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Chandrima police station Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam said police had found no information indicating whether Abu Bakar had previously been arrested or whether any case had been filed against him. His political affiliation was also unknown, he added.
Mahmud Hasan Limon, president of the Chhatra Dal unit at Rajshahi New Government Degree College, said: “I heard from people in the administration that Abu Bakar used to be involved with the Chhatra League. Now, apparently, he is involved with Chhatra Shibir. But I have not seen anything at the college. We did not really know him.”
Shariful Islam, an assistant professor in the History Department of Rajshahi New Government Degree College, said Abu Bakar was a regular student who had taken his first-year final examinations, although the results had not yet been published. He said he had not observed any misconduct by Abu Bakar at the college.
After learning about the Facebook comment, Shariful Islam spoke to several students. According to him, they said Abu Bakar’s father had previously supported the Awami League but had been associating with Jamaat-e-Islami since August 5.
Shariful Islam also said he had heard that Abu Bakar had been involved with the Bangladesh Chhatra League through his family, although he had not observed any such involvement at the college.
The Facebook comment appeared under a photograph of the prime minister posted by a page named “The Beauty of Rajshahi.” The account, bearing the name Abu Bakar Siddique, commented: “What a great opportunity. Only a sniper was missing.”
During his visit to Rajshahi on Tuesday, Tarique Rahman traveled on a Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) bus from the airport to Madrasa Maidan and then to Dharmasabha before returning to the airport. Large numbers of people lined both sides of the road to greet him, and he responded to their greetings.
Following the comment, law enforcement agencies launched an operation to identify the account holder.
According to local residents, a team from the Cyber Crime Unit of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police and Chandrima police station went to Abu Bakar’s house at around 2pm on Wednesday. He was not there, and his family members did not disclose his whereabouts.
At around 4pm, a team from SRB-5 arrived at the house in plain clothes. Unable to find Abu Bakar, the team detained his father for questioning. Ainal Haque subsequently told them that his son was staying at his maternal uncle’s house in Gholharia village.
SRB-5 members then took Ainal Haque to the house and detained Abu Bakar. A mobile phone used by the family was seized, and both were subsequently handed over to the DMP’s Detective Branch.
SRB-5 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Ishtiaq confirmed the handover, saying: “We have handed both of them over to the DB. They will provide further details about the matter later.”
Abu Bakar lives in the Kechuatail area under Chandrima police station in Rajshahi city. His father, a farmer, has 4 children, with Abu Bakar being the eldest.
On Thursday morning, Monirul Islam searched Abu Bakar’s house. After nearly an hour, police found no evidence worth seizing apart from the packaging of a pen drive.
Police also attempted to recover Abu Bakar’s laptop, but family members said he neither used nor owned one.
