The arrest of a rickshaw puller at Dhanmondi 32 on Mujib killing anniversary has drawn scrutiny from the government and rights advocates, amid questions over due process and freedom of expression.
Md Azizur Rahman, described by police as a rickshaw-puller, was beaten by a mob on August 15 while carrying flowers to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s memorial. Witnesses said the crowd attacked him and damaged his rickshaw before handing him over to law enforcers.
A day later, on August 16, a Dhaka court ordered Azizur jailed in connection with an attempted murder case filed during last year’s July anti-discrimination student movement. Police said his name appeared in a case recorded at Dhanmondi Police Station in April, under Penal Code section 307.
The decision quickly sparked controversy. By August 17, the interim government asked the Dhanmondi officer-in-charge to explain why Azizur was shown arrested in the year-old case. Dhaka Metropolitan Police clarified that he had not been arrested under a murder charge, countering rumors that spread online.
Later that day, a Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate granted Azizur bail.
Human rights observers have pointed to two key concerns: the mob attack itself, and the use of a politically sensitive prior case to justify detention. Legal experts note that Bangladesh’s Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and expression, subject to restrictions for public order. Carrying flowers to pay tribute, they argue, falls squarely under protected expression.
Rights groups have also called for accountability against those who assaulted Azizur in public, stressing that law enforcement has a duty to protect citizens from vigilante violence.
The incident has become emblematic of broader tensions between security measures at symbolic national sites and the public’s right to peaceful expression.
As of Sunday night, Azizur was released on bail. The government said it is reviewing the conduct of police at Dhanmondi 32 and examining the legal grounds for his initial arrest.