Staff Reporter :
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has temporarily suspended Inspector Md. Arshad Hossain from Shahbagh Police Station following a widely condemned incident where he was seen forcefully covering a student protester’s mouth during the quota reform movement near the Supreme Court.
The suspension order was issued by DMP Commissioner Md. Mainul Hasan on Sunday.
The controversial incident occurred on July 31 during a ‘March for Justice’ organised by the general Students Against Discrimination, a platform advocating for quota reforms. During the protests, Arshad Hossain was filmed forcibly covering the mouth of Nahidul Islam, a political science student from Dhaka’s New Model Degree College. The footage quickly went viral on social media, eliciting widespread condemnation.
The DMP acknowledged that Inspector Arshad’s conduct was unprofessional and detrimental to the image of the police force. His actions were deemed inappropriate for a disciplined member of the police, leading to his suspension.
In addition to this incident, Inspector Arshad faces several other allegations. He was accused of labelling the protesting students as members of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. A video of him making these claims also circulated on social media, further inflaming the situation.
The DMP has stated that Arshad Hossain’s actions have not only damaged the public perception of the police but have also created a negative impression of their operations.
