12 youth games' participants arrested for assaulting police constable
For assaulting a police constable and his wife, railway police have arrested 11 contestants and a coach of various teams of the Rajshahi division who were going back after participating in the Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games 2023.
Police sent the detainees to jail through court, after a case was filed against the players and the coach on allegations of assault, robbery and molestation.
On Monday, Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 Judge Md Hasanuzzaman granted bail to five of them including a minor female player following a court hearing in this regard.
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The detainees were national youth team players Ali Azam, 19, Akash Ali Mohan, 20, Abdullah Al Zahid, 16, Farhana Khandkar, 17, Rimi Khanam, 19, Khadija Khatun, 17, Papia Sarwar Poornima, 19, Deepali, 19, Sabrina Akhtar, 19, Jamie Akhtar, 14, Brishtimoni, 16 and coach Ahsan Kabir, 45.
Ramzan, another accused in the incident, has gone into hiding, police said.
The incident took place at Rajshahi railway station on Sunday (5 March) when National Emergency Service (999) police constable Golam Kibria and his wife Razia Sultana were travelling from Dhaka on the same train as the youth game participants.
Rajshahi railway police Officer-in-Charge Golam Kumar said that Constable Golam Kibria was beaten up by the players and his wife was also assaulted as she tried to rescue her husband.
"Upon reaching the station, the players blocked a gate of the train barring the constable and his wife from using it after which they got into a fight following a heated argument," he added.
Later, the injured police constable was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the players claimed that the youth games' participants have been unfairly arrested by the railway police.
According to them, the group of players had lost their prize money and a mobile phone on the train. As they went on to look for it, Constable Golam Kibria slapped a female player and this resulted in a scuffle between him and the group.
