DU students seek removal of DC Masud
DU Correspondent :
Students of Dhaka University staged a protest in front of Shahbagh Police Station in the capital on Tuesday demanding the removal of Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Masud Alam.
Our correspondent said, “The hour-long protest began around 3pm, with students demanding the police official’s removal over alleged use of force on journalists and students of Dhaka University during an anti-narcotics drive at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital Monday night.
At around 3:45pm, several protesting DU students entered Shahbagh Police Station to speak with police officials, reports BBC Bangla.
One of the protesters, Joynal Faruk, a student of the anthropology department at Dhaka University, said, “Police members just changed their uniforms but their character and authoritarian behaviour remains unchanged.”
Meanwhile, four members of police have been suspended in connection with the assault of a Dhaka University student during an anti-drug operation at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital.
Md. Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of the Ramna Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), confirmed the matter on Tuesday.
Earlier, during an anti-drug operation at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital, police have also been accused of assaulting two multimedia journalists, a DU student, and other bystanders.
The journalists were Tofayel Ahmed (25) of Banglanews24.com and Kausar Ahmed Ripon (27) of Ajker Patrika.
Videos circulating on social media show police officers beating Tofayel indiscriminately with batons. He was later taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Speaking to the media, Tofayel said police prevented him from filming the operation, and during the ensuing argument, four to five constables began assaulting him. Ripon was also injured while trying to protect his colleague.
He said police prevented him from recording the incident and struck him on the leg with a baton.
Responding to the allegations, DC Masud Alam described the incident as a misunderstanding.
He said that during the operation, a police officer had been cut on the eyebrow with a knife by a drug addict, and in the tense situation, officers mistakenly attacked the journalists, who did not have ID cards.
DC Masud apologized for the incident and assured that those responsible would be held accountable.
