Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of Dinajpur, Mosfekur Rahman, has been withdrawn after a social media post mocking leaders of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) sparked outrage.
The move came after widespread backlash over a Facebook post perceived to be a troll targeting NCP leaders in the aftermath of an attack on their march in Gopalganj. Dinajpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Marufat Hossain confirmed the withdrawal around 9:00 pm on Wednesday, 16 July.
Earlier in the evening, the post had drawn the attention of activists from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, who swiftly launched a protest by besieging the Dinajpur SP office. The demonstrators, furious at the Facebook content, demanded the arrest of ASP Mosfekur and continued their protest from 8:30 pm Wednesday until the early hours of Thursday.
The protest was triggered by a Facebook post made by movement leader Ekramul Haque Abir, who alleged that “ASP (Traffic) Musfek Sahib mocked the revolutionary attack in Gopalganj.” In the post, Abir called on supporters to gather in front of the SP office at Bara Maath.
Hundreds of student protesters and supporters responded, surrounding the police office and staging a sit-in. Later in the night, SP Marufat Hossain appeared before the protesters and assured them that the matter had been reported to police headquarters and ASP Mosfekur had been removed from duty.
However, the protesters refused to call off their programme, insisting that withdrawal was not enough. “We demand his arrest. Until that happens, our siege will continue,” said one of the protest leaders.
Around 9:30 pm, Abir posted again on Facebook: “We have surrounded the SP office. The siege will continue for 24 hours. One-point demand – the ASP must be arrested.”