A union parishad (UP) member in Netrakona’s Purbadhala upazila has been accused of forcibly taking a detained drug dealer from the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) police. The incident occurred on Monday night in Dattakunia village, where DB officers had arrested a man named Samrat, 58, with cannabis during an anti-drug operation.

According to police sources, after Samrat’s arrest, his elder brother, former UP member Babul Mia, along with several local residents, surrounded the DB team and allegedly took Samrat away from police custody. Additional police personnel and members of the district detective office later arrived at the scene to bring the situation under control.

Babul Mia denied the allegation, claiming he was not involved and that Samrat escaped during a scuffle with police. The district DB officer-in-charge, Debangshu Kumar Dey, confirmed the incident and said legal action against those involved is underway.