Bangladesh Police made as many as 45 arrests — all individuals allegedly linked to the banned Awami League (AL) and its affiliates — after they conducted a procession on the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway in the Burichang area of Cumilla on Friday afternoon, media reports from Dhaka said. Most participants covered their faces to conceal their identities but were identified and arrested in follow-up raids.
The Awami League leaders and sympathisers were picked up after multiple raids across different parts of the district on Friday night. They were produced before the court on Saturday for charges including anti-State activities, Bangladeshi media reports said.
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Kalakchua area of Burichang along the Dhaka–Chattogram highway witnessed a procession by the Awami League workers around 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The administration, led by the District Detective Branch (DB), immediately took necessary action to ensure the supporters of the banned political party were held, Prothom Alo said in a report. A video that later went viral on the internet claimed that the procession was organised by the Cumilla South District Chhatra League, the report added.
The Detective Branch worked in close quarters with local police stations in the area to arrest the participants, who now face charges including engaging in anti-state activities, disrupting public safety, and creating public fear, the news report said.
The probe team also claimed that Metropolitan Awami League president A.K.M. Bahauddin Bahar, who is currently abroad, sent funds to his cadres on the ground to organise “anti-government activities.” A part of the sum was used to recruit participants who were brought from different parts of Cumilla to join the short procession.
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Awami League’s activities were officially “suspended” by Bangladesh’s interim government following the student-led uprising in August 2024 that led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Raids in Bangladesh after ‘banned’ Awami League takes out march in Cumilla; 45 arrested for anti-state activities
