11 jailed in case over beating of Chhatra Dal leaders at Dhanmondi bar, including bar manager and bouncers

Police have arrested a total of 11 people, including the manager and bouncers of a bar named Koyla at Concord Tower on Dhanmondi 27 in the capital, in a case filed over the beating of Chhatra Dal leaders and activists.

When the arrested men were produced before the court on Thursday, Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court ordered them sent to jail.

Motahar Hossain, former vice-president of Dhaka Metropolitan West Chhatra Dal, who was beaten in the incident, filed the case at Mohammadpur police station on Thursday noon. The case names 19 people, including seven leaders of the banned Chhatra League, and lists another 30 to 40 unidentified people as accused.

Among those arrested are Tanvir Ahammed Molla, alias Raja (23), joint general secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North Chhatra League, Chhatra League leader Md Suman Mia (30) and Md Akbar Hossain (27).

The other arrested men are the Koyla bar's manager, security staff and bouncers Md Jasim Khan (30), Md Shahadat Islam (28), Md Rafiqul Islam (55), Md Jahidul Islam (23), Shipon (38), Md Maruf (36), Md Kaiyum (38) and Rakibul Islam (38).

Md Jewel Rana, additional deputy commissioner of the Mohammadpur zone of police's Tejgaon division, said 11 people, including three Chhatra League leaders, were shown arrested in the case filed by the Chhatra Dal leader and produced before the court. After the hearing the court ordered them sent to jail, and drives are continuing to arrest the remaining accused.

According to police, the case statement and Chhatra Dal sources, Chhatra Dal leaders and activists detained Suman, an employee of a restaurant in the Dhanmondi 27 area, on Wednesday night over allegations of involvement in Chhatra League politics. They tried to check Suman's mobile phone and informed police. At one stage Suman ran away and went down to Concord Tower.

There, security staff of the Koyla bar asked the Chhatra Dal leaders and activists to release Suman, and an argument broke out between the two sides. A short while later Chhatra League leader Raja arrived to free Suman. When the Chhatra Dal men tried to detain him too, he ran inside the bar and took shelter there.

When the Chhatra Dal leaders and activists tried to enter the bar, the security staff blocked them. At one stage the bar's staff closed the entrance gate of Concord Tower and beat the Chhatra Dal men with sticks, iron rods and hockey sticks. The incident took place in front of and inside the bar after midnight on Wednesday.

Motahar Hossain, joint convener of Mohammadpur thana Chhatra Dal S K Sajeb and Chhatra Dal activist Akash were injured, with their heads split open. They were rescued and treated at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. On receiving the news, police reached the spot, brought the situation under control and detained Raja, Suman and the bar's security staff and took them to the police station.

Motahar Hossain said the bar's security staff blocked them when they went to detain Suman and Raja. He said they had evidence that Suman ran various Chhatra League Facebook pages and groups, and that three people including himself were injured in the attack by the security staff and bouncers.