Police have arrested former Jubo Dal leader Noor Alam in connection with the attack, vandalism, and looting at Radda Maternal and Child Health Centre in Mirpur, Dhaka. He was detained from the Darus Salam area on Thursday night.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mirpur Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hasan Mohammad Naser Rikabdar confirmed the arrest to TIMES of Bangladesh on Friday. He added that with Noor Alam’s arrest over the attack, vandalism, and looting at the Radda MCH-FP Centre, the total number of arrests in the incident has risen to 16.
Noor Alam is a former joint general secretary of Shah Ali Thana Jubo Dal. On 30 September, he was expelled from all positions in Jubo Dal on charges of breach of party discipline.
Earlier, on the night of 25 September, more than 200 individuals carried out an attack, vandalised, and looted the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1. Subsequently, multiple structures of the health centre were demolished using an excavator.
Following allegations of police inaction in the incident, the then officer-in-charge (OC) of Shah Ali Police Station, Jahangir Alam, was withdrawn.
Amid allegations of political involvement in the incident, the committee of Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP was dissolved. Simultaneously, local committees of Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal were also dissolved, and several leaders and activists were expelled.
Meanwhile, Ferdousy Ahmed Mishty, lawmaker for a reserved women’s seat, resigned on Thursday after allegations surfaced regarding her involvement in the incident. However, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad stated that the investigation into the allegations against her will continue.
