Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri held, sent to jail

Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri, known for his highly provocative sermons, online speeches, and Facebook posts, was sent to Kashimpur Central Jail yesterday.

Mehedi Hasan, officer-in-charge of Tongi East Police Station, told The Daily Star, "Ataur Rahman was handed over to the station after the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested him on the home ministry's instructions."

"After receiving him, we completed the necessary procedures, and then he was sent to Kashimpur Central Jail," the OC added.

Regarding the arrest, Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP's media and public relations, said Ataur was detained in Narsingdi on Tuesday night at the request of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP).

A GMP press release said that for the sake of law and order, the home ministry, exercising its authority under section 3(1) of the Special Powers Act, 1974, issued a 90-day detention order against Ataur.

Upon receipt of the order and with the DMP's help, Tongi East Police Station arrested him and sent him to jail, the release added.

Abdullah Al Mamun, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur High Security Central Jail, told this newspaper that Ataur has been kept at Kashimpur Central Jail-1.

Ataur's followers claimed on social media that he was travelling in a bus heading for Bhairab from Narsingdi on Tuesday night, which was halted for his detention.

His social media profile identifies him as the founder of the Prisoners' Rights Movement and Ameer of Azadi Andolon Bangladesh. He has also been seen taking a leading role in mobilising protests under the banner of "Tawhidi Janata" on several occasions.

On March 6 this year, fact-checker Qadaruddin Shishir wrote in a Facebook post that Ataur had led protests in front of the Bangla daily Prothom Alo and later played a key role in forcibly securing the release of several protesters from a police station after they were detained.

According to Shishir, Ataur also travelled from Jashore to Dhaka to lead efforts to free an accused harasser of women from Shahbagh police custody.

In a recent post, Ataur referred to the current khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Maulana Abdul Malek, as a "munafiq" and used a slur against him, Shishir wrote.

Ataur also runs a Facebook page -- "Anti-Shatim Movement" -- where a post on February 22 called for the killing of anyone identified as a "Shatim-e-Rasul".

He regularly labels Muslims who support democratic practices as "kafirs" and has been accused of inciting violence against atheists. While he has described the Islamic State (IS) as khariji, he has publicly portrayed al-Qaeda and the Taliban as "legitimate" groups, Shishir wrote in the post.

In 2021, Ataur was arrested as a member of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team. He is also a central coordinator of the Boishommoheen Karamukti Andolon, which campaigns for the release of convicted militants.

After August 5 last year, he and his followers reportedly gathered at Kashimpur jail and questioned officials while demanding the release of militant prisoners, Shishir added in the post.

[Our Gazipur correspondent contributed to this report.]