News Desk :
Hefazat-e-Islam activists snatched their Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque away from a resort in Narayanganj where he was kept in police custody on Saturday after locals found him with a woman.
Hundreds of Hefazat supporters ran riot in Sonargaon upazila at around 8pm, vandalizing the Royal Resort and the upazila unit office of the ruling Awami League, before taking their leader to a nearby field where he reportedly ordered the agitated activists to calm down.
Additional police forces have been deployed on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway to keep the situation under control.
Earlier in the day, police in Narayanganj took Mamunul Haque into custody after some local people and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Jubo League kept him cordoned in a room of the resort with the woman.Mamunul, however, claimed that the woman was his second wife and that they had been married for the last two years.
Some local residents apprehended him at Sonaragaon upazila’s Royal Resort, Inspector Tabedur Rahman of Sonargaon Police Station told the media.
A team of police rushed to the resort and took him to safety after the incident was reported.
The Hefazat leader has neither been arrested nor detained, said Inspector Tabedur, before adding: “He is with us and is being questioned. Basically, we are providing security to him from the people.”
A video clip that went viral on social media showed that some people were questioning Mamunul and he was claiming that the woman was his second wife and that they wedded two years ago.
Mamunul was also seen threatening legal action over “harassment”.
Meanwhile, the Hifazat leader made two posts on his verified Facebook page soon after his release. He assured the countrymen that he was safe.
In one post, he urged people not to be diverted by any rumors, saying, “I am safe, the situation is completely normal with the cooperation of the police administration. No one should be confused by any rumor.”
Then he made another post. In the post, he thanked the Touhidi people of Sonargaon and said, “No provocative behavior can not be done. The situation has to be dealt with utmost patient and tolerance.”
