A single, unverified WhatsApp message about gold smuggling triggered the chain of events that led to national cricketer Nayeem Hasan being beaten by police and held in a cell in Chattogram on Friday night.
The message, sent by a sergeant-ranked intelligence officer working the Khulshi zone, named a specific CNG auto-rickshaw registration number (Chatt Metro-Tha-13-5627) and claimed it was being used to transport gold from the airport.
It contained no description of any suspect, no indication of who was carrying the alleged contraband, and no evidence that the information had been verified.
On the basis of that tip alone, and without obtaining the required authorisation from senior Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) command, Sub-Inspector Shafiqul Islam launched an operation.
What followed was a cascade of decisions that ended with one of Bangladesh’s Test cricketers beaten with a baton and a pipe, dragged to a police station, and harassed in the officer-in-charge’s room.
The timeline, reconstructed from multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation and CMP internal communications, reveals the sequence in detail. At 9:30pm on Friday, SI Shafiqul received the intelligence tip from a DGFI sergeant named Kamruzzaman.
The operation was conducted at 11:25pm, when Nayeem’s auto-rickshaw was stopped beneath the Lalkhan Bazar flyover. Only after the assault sparked widespread outrage did Shafiqul forward the original tip-off message to a CMP WhatsApp group, at 1:28pm on Saturday, nearly 14 hours later, in what sources described as a belated attempt to justify his conduct.
Nayeem Hasan, the 26-year-old off-spinner, had returned to his home city after playing the final round of the Dhaka Premier League. His flight was delayed, and he landed at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport at around 10:20pm. He boarded a CNG auto-rickshaw and headed home.
As the vehicle came off the expressway near Lalkhan Bazar, officers identifying themselves as Detective Branch police flagged it down and seized the driver’s documents. Nayeem was then physically pulled from the vehicle, grabbed by the throat and shoved towards a police car.
He identified himself as a national cricketer and produced his identity card. The officers did not relent. SI Shafiqul and a plainclothes police informant named Sohel struck him with a baton and a plastic pipe. An estimated 100 to 200 bystanders gathered and confirmed his identity.
The assault continued regardless. He was taken to Khulshi police station, where he says he was harassed further inside the OC’s room before being released in the early hours of Saturday.
CMP Deputy Commissioner (North) Amirul Islam acknowledged that there had been intelligence suggesting the auto-rickshaw was carrying smuggled goods but said the accuracy of that information remained unverified.
He said investigators were also examining whether proper authorisation had been obtained before the operation. “There are established rules governing police operations and searches,” he said. “It appears initially that the officers involved did not follow proper procedures.”
CMP Commissioner Hasan Md Shawkat Ali visited Nayeem’s family home in Chattogram’s Faridarpara area on Saturday afternoon and announced that two officers, including SI Shafiqul, had been suspended.
Three personnel from Khulshi station have been withdrawn and attached to police lines following a preliminary inquiry that found negligence.
A three-member investigation committee has been formed, and the Commissioner said those found responsible would face the maximum punishment available under police regulations.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board condemned the treatment of Nayeem as “unacceptable and inappropriate” and called for a thorough, impartial investigation, with president Tamim Iqbal saying he coordinated an immediate response after being contacted by Nayeem and stayed in touch with his family and authorities in Chattogram.
The Cricketers’ Welfare Association also demanded strict action, with CWAB president Mithun confirming the case was filed and saying the Home Minister had assured further action. Liton Kumar Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Shoriful Islam, Parvez Hossain Emon, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib all expressed solidarity and called for justice and punishment for those responsible.
Nayeem holds the record for the youngest Bangladesh bowler to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut. He has claimed 48 wickets in 14 Tests across four five-wicket innings hauls and is due to travel with the Bangladesh Test squad to Zimbabwe shortly.
