Police identify man who threw bottle at information adviser, hope to make arrest 'soon'

Police have identified the individual who threw a water bottle at Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam during a student protest at Jagannath University.

The suspect is reportedly a first-year student at the university. Law enforcement agencies are actively searching for him, according to local media.

According to Deputy Commissioner Md Masud Alam of the Ramna Division Police, video footage of the incident was analysed, leading to the identification of the suspect as Ishtiak Hossain. Following the incident, he fled the scene, and multiple police units are conducting operations to apprehend him. Authorities are optimistic about making an arrest soon.

Sources from Jagannath University indicate that Ishtiak previously studied at Kabi Nazrul Government College in Old Dhaka.

His classmates involved in the protest movement have reported being unable to contact him since this morning.

The incident occurred around 10 PM on Wednesday night, when Mahfuz Alam visited the protest site near Kakrail Mosque to engage with the demonstrating students. While addressing them, a plastic water bottle was thrown, striking him on the head. He left the scene immediately without further comment.(

Approximately 15 minutes later, Mahfuz Alam spoke to journalists at a distance from the protest site. He expressed suspicion about the perpetrators, suggesting that a specific group harbouring animosity towards a particular individual for the past eight months, and known for their online hostility, was responsible for the act.