Man arrested for harassing women while 'pretending to be intellectually disabled'

Savar Police today (10 March) arrested a man who has been harassing women on the streets while reportedly pretending to be intellectually disabled.

The arrestee has been identified as Md Khalid Mahmud Hridoy, reads a press statement issued by the Bangladesh Police.

He was arrested this afternoon from the Amin Bazar area of Savar in Dhaka.

Legal action against the arrestee is underway for creating instability in the society through his actions, reads the police statement.

The statement further reads that a video posted on a page on Facebook shows that Khalid Mahmud is pretending to be intellectually disabled and "is making obscene comments to various girls for not wearing hijab outdoors".

"He is spreading this on social media and thereby degrading all the girls in the society," it adds.

The accused is also seen telling girls "if you don't wear hijab you will be raped" and his comments towards women are very offensive.

"In the video, he also makes indecent comments towards young girls, especially in the video that has been circulated on social media, with two Hindu girls in it.

"In addition to asking them to wear hijab or veil, there were many indecent and offensive statements aimed at them, which is an attempt to create discord between the Hindu and Muslim communities living together peacefully in the society," says the press statement.

Several videos of Khalid - wearing a lungi, t-shirt and a shawl, with a portion of his face painted black - harassing young girls and women on the streets of Amin Bazar area went viral on social media, drawing severe criticism from netizens. Many demanded his swift punishment.