Police arrested 18 union parishad (UP) members from a residential hotel of Cox’s Bazar on Friday during an alleged secret meeting. Three of them were released later. The other fifteen UP Members were sent to court on Saturday afternoon.
Officer-in-Charge of Cox’s Bazar Sadar police station Faizul Azim Noman said a drive was conducted at Uni Resort hotel in the Kolatoli area of the Cox's Bazar town. The UP members were detained at that time.
Although the names and identities of the detainees have not been disclosed, they are all members of various union parishads in Cox's Bazar district.
Faizul Azim Noman said that on Friday evening, the police received information about a secret meeting of some anti-government leaders of the Awami League at a residential hotel in the Kalatli area. Later, when the police surrounded the hotel, several people managed to escape. Meanwhile, 18 union parishad members who were in the hotel's conference room were detained by the police.
The detained UP members are leaders of various levels of the Awami League. They are accused of being involved in opposition and various violent incidents during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, he added.
Later that night, the detainees were brought to the police station for interrogation, the OC confirmed.
Md Gofur Uddin Chowdhury, the Chairman of Palongkhali union in Ukhiya upazila, said a meeting titled "State Reform, Democracy Establishment, and the Role of Grassroots Representatives in Local Development" was organized by the association of union parishad members at the conference room of Uni Resort from Friday afternoon to evening.
He said that the meeting was chaired by him, with participation from over 500 UP members and Chairmen from Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts. After the meeting in the evening, most of the guests and representatives left, but some Cox's Bazar district UP members stayed behind.
‘Towards the evening, the police, along with some members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, suddenly surrounded the hotel and detained them. After more than three hours, 18 people were taken to the police station, while the others were released,’ he added.
However, Gofur Uddin Chowdhury said he is not sure why the police detained them.
OC Faizul Azim Noman of Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station said, the detained UP members were interrogated at the police station. After verification, those against whom there was specific evidence were arrested in relation to the respective cases. Among the detainees, 15 were arrested, while 3 others, who were not found to have any charges against them, were released.
He also mentioned that, the arrested individuals were sent to the Cox's Bazar court on Saturday afternoon.
