The student of Jagannath University (JnU) who threw a plastic water bottle at Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam during a protest at Kakrail earlier has been released after an apology and a meeting with the adviser, DB officials confirmed on Friday.
Identified as Mohammad Hossain, a first-year student at JnU, was detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Thursday night following a review of video footage of the incident.
The incident took place at around 10:00pm on Wednesday when Adviser Mahfuj Alam was speaking to a group of students and teachers demonstrating near the Kakrail Mosque.
As he addressed the crowd, a plastic bottle was hurled in his direction, striking him on the head. The adviser ended his remarks and left the scene immediately. The next day, he underwent a precautionary CT scan at a city hospital, which confirmed that the injury was not serious.
Later on, in a Facebook post on Friday, Adviser Mahfuj Alam confirmed that he met Hossain and his family at the DB office. “He apologised for the unintentional mistake. I spoke with him and his guardians,” Mahfuj wrote.
He also stated that he had personally requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to release Hossain into his family’s custody following initial interrogation.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Media and Public Relations Division also confirmed the student’s release in a brief statement Friday evening. “He was questioned and later handed over to his family,” said DMP Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Talebur Rahman.
However, the news of Hossain’s detention had sparked swift reaction from JnU demonstrators, who earlier in the day had threatened to besiege the DB office if he was not released within two hours.