17 arrested after 4 cops injured in attack allegedly by BNP men to snatch arrestee in Bagerhat

A group led by a local BNP leader reportedly attacked police in Kachua upazila's Gajalia Bridge area yesterday night (1 April) in an attempt to snatch an arrested suspect, leaving four police officers injured.

A joint operation by police and army personnel later detained 17 individuals involved in the attack.

A case has been filed in the police station naming 27 people and 100 to 150 unidentified people as accused in the incident. This afternoon (2 April), Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Kachua Police Station Rakib filed the case as the plaintiff.

Previously arrested suspect Ekhlas Sheikh, 35, was wanted in connection with cases of extortion and assault. According to the police, he is an active BNP worker.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kachua Police Station Md Rashedul Alam said that a police team, led by Sub-Inspector Ahmed Kabir, conducted a raid in the Gajalia Bridge area at around 11pm yesterday.

During the operation, they arrested Ekhlas Sheikh, an accused in extortion and assault cases. At that moment, a group of 100-150 individuals, led by Gajalia union BNP President Shikdar Zakir Hossain Tutul and General Secretary Sheikh Delwar Hossain, attacked the police to free the suspect, said SI Ahmed Kabir, who was injured in the attack.

The other injured policemen are Kachua Police Station Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Rakib Mollah and constables Md Zahidur Rahman and Ranjan Biswas.

They sustained injuries in the attack and received primary medical treatment at Kachua Upazila Health Complex, the OC added.

Bagerhat Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Md Shamim Hossain said out of the 27 named accused in the case, 17 people have been arrested and sent to the district jail through the Bagerhat Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in the afternoon.