Staff Reporter :
Parents and guardians on Sunday demanded the release of their children picked up by law enforcers from Dhaka’s Mohakhali and Tejgaon areas on September 5.
If the students are guilty, then produce them in any court, requested the parents and guardians.
As per the law, anyone detained by law enforcers has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
But those 12 youths have not yet been produced in a court though four days elapsed since arrest.
According to a statement, around 40 to 50 youths were detained in a raid, conducted by personnel identifying themselves as DB police, in Tejgaon and Mohakhali area of Dhaka on September 5. All but 12 of the detainees were later released.
The youths are HSC students Al Amin and Johirul Islam Hasib, Bangladesh Textile University second year student Mujahidul Islam, Titumir College honours fourth year student Jahangir Alam, Govt Sadat College graduate student Saifullah-Bin-Monsur, SAIC Institute student Gazi Mohammad Borhan Uddin, Dhaka Polytechnic students Tarek Aziz, Mahfuz, Raihanul Abedin, Iftekhar Alam, Mehedi Hassan Rajib and a second Tarek Aziz.
Families of the above mentioned youths contacted the DB office on September 6 seeking details about their whereabouts, but they did not receive any concrete information, read the statement.
Quoting his other son Sifat who was also detained and later released, Mansur Rahman told reporters: “My son spoke of suffering torture. They were trying to make him confess that he was involved in the students’ movement for safe roads.
“However, Sifat repeatedly denied his involvement with the agitation. He was released, but there is no trace of my other son Saifullah.”
Mansur also said, “Saifullah came to Dhaka for training, as he got a new job. He lived with his younger brother Sifat and was not involved in the quota or road safety movement.”
Enamul Haque, father of another detainee student Johirul, said Johirul came to Dhaka to attend coaching for university admission and was living in a hostel in the city’s Tajkunipara area. Enamul also claimed that his son was not involved in any of the movements.
DB Additional Commissioner Abdul Baten told the media, “We are conducting raids at the moment and details of it will be provided today (Monday).”
