A group of people attacked the Patiya police station in Chattogram and an army vehicle, demanding the handover of a youth arrested for insulting Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on social media.
After the incident on Monday afternoon, additional police and army personnel were deployed to restore order, confirmed Patiya police officer-in-charge Abu Zayed Md Nazmun Nur.
The arrested individual, Partha Biswas Pintu, 22, is son of Suman Biswas, a resident of Shobhandandi union in Patiya upazila in Chattogram. He was taken to custody earlier in the day from Chattogram city. He is accused of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet on social media.
Md Kamrul Islam, a resident of Ward 4 of Patiya municipality, filed a case against Pintu at the police station on Sunday.
Following the complaint, a joint team from Patiya Police Station and the Detective Branch of the police arrested him from the North Madarbari area under Bandar police station in Chattogram city.
According to local sources, after news of Pintu鈥檚 arrest spread, locals, including madrassah students, gathered in front of Patiya police station, asking police to hand over him to the protesters. When their demands were not met, they vandalised the waiting room of the police station.
At the same time, an army vehicle passing by the station was caught up in the chaos. Mistaking a young man in civilian clothes inside the army vehicle for the arrested youth, the mob attacked and vandalised the army vehicle as well as another nearby vehicle. The army vehicle quickly left the scene.
Commenting on the incident, Patiya Circle Police Superintendent (SP) Ariful Islam said, 鈥楾he crowd gathered outside the police station due to a Facebook post. We arrested the accused earlier in the morning and brought him to justice. The crowd became agitated without understanding the legal process. Additional police and army forces were later deployed, and the situation was brought under control.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Chattogram District Police stated that during initial questioning, the accused admitted to posting the offensive content on Facebook. He has been handed over to the court, and police have requested his remand for further investigation. Authorities have urged the public to remain calm as the investigation continues.
