From the Board to Cricketers, All Eyes Are on Police Action
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"When I met Nayeem at the police station, he broke down in tears. When I asked what had happened, he said, 'Brother, you cannot imagine how badly the police treated me. Those 15 minutes were horrifying.'"
These were the words of Kamrul Alam Sabbir, elder brother of national cricketer Nayeem Hasan, recounting to this correspondent on Saturday the harrowing ordeal his younger brother endured late Friday night.
According to Sabbir, Nayeem was harassed and physically assaulted by police in the Lalkhan Bazar area of Chattogram city while returning home to Bahaddarhat from Shah Amanat International Airport. The cricketer had just flown in from Dhaka after completing a match in the Premier Cricket League.
BCB Director Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir confirmed that the incident has drawn sharp reactions from across the cricketing community. BCB President Tamim Iqbal, board directors, current national team players, and former cricketers' organisations are all deeply disturbed, he said. The board is monitoring police action on the matter before determining its next course of response.
Sabbir described how Nayeem's CNG auto-rickshaw was flagged down by three police officers near Lalkhan Bazar, accompanied by a plainclothes police informant named Sohel. After being pulled from the vehicle and searched without cause, Nayeem was subjected to abusive language and physical assault.
"Police grabbed him by the throat on the open road, beat him with a plastic pipe, and a man in a panjabi also struck him," Sabbir said. He specifically named SI Shafique, Constable Russell, and the informant Sohel as responsible for the misconduct, adding that at least one other officer present did not participate in the mistreatment.
Sabbir, who reached the station at around 12:45 AM, said locals in the area had recognised Nayeem and begun to protest. Police then took the cricketer to the station. "The locals apprehended the plainclothes man and brought him to the station as well. In front of us, the OC seated him right beside him on a chair," he said.
Nayeem's father, Mahbub Alam, a former BNP ward councillor and footballer — was also denied entry to the station for 15 minutes upon arrival. "They refused to let me in and treated me poorly. What they did to my son is unimaginable. I want justice," he said.
From the police station, Nayeem, Sabbir and Mahbub contacted BCB President Tamim Iqbal and directors Sirajuddin Muhammad Alamgir and Israfil Khosru. Shortly afterward, the tone from police officials reportedly softened considerably.