Members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch took three quota reform movement coordinators—Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan and Abu Bakar Majumdar—from Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital in the capital on July 26, 2024. At about 11:30pm, the DB acknowledged holding them, saying they had been brought in for their security and would be asked whether they had information about violence.

Nahid’s family alleged earlier that afternoon that people in plain clothes identifying themselves as law enforcement personnel first took Nahid, then Asif and Bakar. The report said Nahid had previously been taken from Nandipara in Khilgaon on July 19 and left in Purbachal on July 21. Asif and Bakar were also reportedly taken that day and left in separate areas on July 24.

Then-home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists the three coordinators were feeling unsafe and that the DB had taken responsibility for protecting them. The report also described nationwide arrest operations and “block raids” surrounding the movement, stating that 9,121 people were arrested in 11 days, including 2,536 in Dhaka.