The incident occurred around 7:30pm near the Police Line and Government Women’s College area.
The three individuals were identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Shyamal Saha of Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station, Constable Hanif and Jahid, a police source. The students were Siam and Arpa, from the 2023–24 academic session of the Department of Statistics at Comilla University.
According to reports, the students were returning to campus after giving private tuition. They were walking through an alley in the Racecourse area to catch a university bus when three individuals stopped them and attempted to search them.
The students asked the trio to show their identification cards, but they failed to produce any official credentials. Instead, they showed a walkie-talkie and a pair of handcuffs, claiming to be police personnel. Suspecting them of being fake police officers or muggers, the students brought them to the university campus on a bus.
Student Siam said one of the individuals stopped and searched them. However, when asked to show his ID card, he failed to do so and behaved rudely. The other two also failed to establish their identities.
ASI Shyamal Saha claimed that they had only asked the students to identify themselves. He said they released the students after learning that they were university students and also offered an apology.
Shyamal added that when the students asked for identification, they showed them a walkie-talkie and handcuffs. They also advised the students to contact senior officers to verify their identities.
He claimed that they tried to leave when the situation escalated. However, the students forcibly made them board the university bus and took them to the campus.
The students took the three individuals to the proctor’s office. A hearing was held there in the presence of university authorities, police officials, faculty members, students and journalists.
Comilla University Proctor Mohammad Shahadat Hossain confirmed that an ASI, a constable and a police source had attempted to search the students but failed to show their identification cards. He said the concerned police station authorities also acknowledged this failure.
The proctor said an altercation broke out between the two sides before the students forcibly brought the three individuals to campus. He said the students should have informed the university administration or relevant authorities instead of bringing them there by force. He also stressed that police officers must always carry their official identification cards.
He said both sides were at fault, but the matter was resolved after officials heard their statements and both parties accepted the outcome. The university also provided guidance to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Cumilla Sadar South Circle Mostain Billah Ferdous said both parties were at fault. He said the matter could have been resolved at the scene by contacting a local police officer, the police station or the national emergency helpline 999.
He added that bringing the individuals to the campus by bus was unacceptable.
