Swechhasebak League leader taken away from police

A local Swechchasebak League leader was taken away from police custody in Cox's Bazar soon after his detention on Sunday evening.

The leader has been identified as Abdul Mannan, convener of Cox's Bazar municipality ward-1 unit of Swechchhasebak League and younger brother of the ward's former councillor Akhtar Kamal Azad.

Locals identified Azad as a former BNP leader.

The incident took place on Kavita Chattar Road in Cox's Bazar town. A video of the incident is being circulated online.

According to eyewitnesses and the video footage, a police team picked up Mannan from the road at 6:00pm. When police were taking him to the police station, around 20 to 30 people, including some leaders and activists of local AL and BNP, surrounded the police.

They locked in an altercation with the police and at one stage, Azad reached the scene and took Mannan away from the police.

Contacted, Azad said, "My brother is not an accused in any case. Police stopped him and interrogated him on suspicion. When locals heard about it, they rushed there. There was no incident of snatching."

Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Md Ilyas Khan said, "After spotting the Swechchhasebak League leader, police launched a drive. When he was being taken, a large crowd, including local men and women, gathered there. As we were few in number, we could not resist them."