Mahdi Hasan, member secretary of the Habiganj district branch of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was detained by the Detective Branch (DB) police on Saturday evening from a lawyer’s residence in the district town. The branch’s convener, Arif Talukdar, said he was not yet clear about the reason for the detention, though police informed them it was for interrogation. Attempts to contact the Habiganj DB police for further details were unsuccessful.

According to reports, Mahdi may have been detained in connection with an incident on January 2, when he allegedly threatened police after admitting to burning the Baniachang police station and assaulting a sub-inspector while trying to secure the release of an accused person. Earlier on Saturday afternoon, the movement’s central office secretary, Shahadat Hossain, issued a show-cause notice to Mahdi, instructing him to respond within 24 hours and barring him from participating in organizational activities until further notice.

The report also mentioned that a former Chhatra League leader, Enamul Hasan Noyon, had been detained earlier, prompting protests from movement activists who demanded his release.