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A group of men has beaten up TV actor Siddiqur Rahman, widely known as Siddique, in Dhaka and later handed him over to police.
A video clip circulating on social media shows attackers swoop in on the actor on a footpath, beat him up and drag him away, ripping his shirt in the process.
Two police personnel close by were seen not intervening in the incident.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division’s Deputy Commissioner Masud Alam, Assistant Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun, and chief Golam Faruq could not be reached for comment.
Ramna Police Station’s duty officer Sub-Inspector (SI) Jalal Uddin said the incident occurred around 5:45pm on Tuesday.
“About an hour ago, the public brought actor Siddiqur Rahman to the station,” he said.
Asked about the allegations against him, SI Jalal said: “We are currently keeping him in protective custody.”
This follows another incident on Thursday evening when Siddique’s home in Gulshan’s Shahjadpur was surrounded by local BNP activists.
According to a report by Swadesh Pratidin, the actor was at home at the time. Upon receiving word of the gathering outside, Siddique fled the scene in a car with the help of family members.
One of his relatives was later assaulted.
Actor-turned-MP Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque won the Dhaka-17 seat in the 11th general election.
After his death, Siddique sought the Awami League nomination, but the ticket went to Mohammad Ali Arafat, who won the seat.
When Siddique was denied the nomination, he drew public attention by going live on Facebook and announcing a trip to Dubai “to lift his mood”.
Ahead of the 12th general election, he collected nomination forms for both Dhaka-17 and his birthplace, Tangail-1, but was not selected in either case.