Expelled Jamaat activist arrested over attack at Chattogram protest rally

Police have arrested Akash Chowdhury, a former Jamaat-e-Islami activist, for allegedly kicking a woman during a student protest in Chattogram.

The incident took place during a rally organised last Wednesday by the Gonotantrik Chhatra Jote, protesting the acquittal of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam in a 1971 war crimes case.

Chowdhury was arrested on Sunday in the port city’s Kotwali area.

“He was arrested based on confidential information,” said Kotwali Police Station chief Abdul Karim. “He has been sent to court under the Speedy Trial Act.”

Clashes broke out when a group calling itself the “Shahbaghbirodhi Jote” arrived at the protest site. At least 12 people were injured.

Police detained two men at the scene and later filed a case naming them and 20 unidentified others, accusing them of “carrying local weapons, spreading fear, and blocking traffic.”

A 15-second video of the incident, shared widely on Facebook, shows a man – identified as Chowdhury –kicking two people from behind, including a woman, near the Press Club.

On 30 May, Jamaat said in a statement that it had expelled Chowdhury for the incident.

The statement, signed by Chattogram city assistant secretary Mohammad Ullah, confirmed his removal for “kicking a woman during the Gonotantrik Chhatra Jote programme.”