A high-level cover-up scandal has sent shockwaves through Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) following the emergence of covert video footage that directly contradicts an official report exonerating four suspects in a violent assault on on-duty officers.
Allegations of illicit financial transactions, internal coercion, and a rushed whitewash to protect wealthy foreign-university students have triggered a departmental inquiry, exposing deep fractures within the force’s senior leadership.
The incident unfolded at approximately 12:30am on 15 January at a routine police checkpoint in the Kazir Dewri intersection.
According to the original case registered by Sub-Inspector Md Sohrab Hossain of Kotwali Police Station, several motorcyclists defied orders to pull over and sped off.
A quarter of an hour later, the riders returned accompanied by a hostile mob. The group launched a brazen assault on the checkpoint, attacking officers and threatening to forcibly shut down operations. Three police personnel, including SI Sohrab, sustained injuries during the fray.
Police initially arrested three named suspects on the spot, Ali Azgar Nagaria, Hossain Selim Kakajiwala, and Kutubuddin Selim Kakajiwala, all members of an influential family residing in the affluent Sarson Road and Enayet Bazar quarters of the city.
A fourth suspect, Md Naim Hossain, was apprehended shortly afterwards.
On 17 January, investigating officer SI Abdullah Al Noman sought a five-day remand to interrogate the trio.
The court subsequently granted a one-day interrogation at the jail gate.
However, on 29 April, just three and a half months into the probe, SI Noman submitted a startling final report that completely exonerated all four men.
The document depicted the principal suspects as individuals of “good character” studying at prestigious institutions in Bangladesh and overseas.
SI Noman claimed that six to seven “unidentified” assailants were solely responsible, asserting there was no evidence linking the arrested men to the violence and citing a lack of corroboration from independent witnesses.
On 11 May, Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Md Abu Bakar Siddique formally accepted the final report, discharging all the accused.
That official narrative has now collapsed. Covert video clips obtained by TIMES clearly depict the three primary suspects engaged in a furious, physical altercation with police officers at the checkpoint. Independent eyewitnesses interviewed by TIMES confirmed seeing the men actively participating in the violence.
Subsequent enquiries revealed that the suspects were studying at overseas universities and were visiting Bangladesh on holiday.
A criminal record would have barred them from returning abroad to complete their degrees, fuelling rampant allegations that senior police officials facilitated their discharge in exchange for substantial financial payoffs.
Furthermore, sources confirmed that the “unidentified” attackers cited in the final report were not unknown, but were members of the same family.
The revelations have ignited intense internal turmoil within the CMP, prompting a departmental inquiry led by Additional Superintendent of Police Abdullah Mohammad Sheikh Sadi.
As part of the probe, SI Noman submitted a formal statement and was questioned directly by CMP Commissioner Hasan Mohammad Shawkat Ali.
Sheikh Sadi said, “I’m no longer with the CMP, so I can’t comment on the matter. While there, I represented the commissioner in this inquiry before handing it over to the authorities. I don’t know who is currently leading the probe or its status, and I can’t comment publicly on internal matters that risk damaging the force’s image.”
SI Noman maintained his innocence, “I was summoned by both the inquiry head and the CMP Commissioner to brief them on my findings. I’m not involved in any financial transactions, nor am I aware of anyone else being involved.”
Sources indicate SI Noman faced intense pressure from senior figures to expedite the final report, claiming Commissioner Shawkat Ali and then deputy police commissioner (now additional police commissioner for traffic), Hossain Mohammad Kabir Bhuiyan, issued direct orders to submit the document promptly.
Commissioner Shawkat Ali firmly rejected the allegations. “I did not instruct anyone to submit a final report in a case involving an attack on police,” he said, confirming the internal inquiry has concluded and been forwarded to authorities in Dhaka.
“This is an internal matter. If you require clarification, you are welcome to speak with us in person. However, the assertion that I issued such instructions is untrue. I have also submitted a written statement confirming that no such orders were given by me.”
Other key figures, including Hossain Mohammad Kabir and former Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Aftab Uddin, did not respond to TIMES’ requests for comment.
Complainant SI Sohrab Hossain also declined to comment, saying that as he filed the case on behalf of the state, he was not authorised to discuss internal proceedings publicly.
