Local Juba Dal Leader Accused of Publicly Assaulting Woman in Noakhali
A local leader of the Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has sparked public outrage in Noakhali’s Subarnachar upazila after a video emerged showing him brutally assaulting a woman and her husband. The incident took place Saturday morning in Mohammadpur Union, drawing widespread condemnation after footage of the attack circulated on social media.
The accused, identified as Md. Shafiq, is a former general secretary of the local Juba Dal unit. According to the victim, her husband had been employed at Shafiq’s fish farm but ceased working there after the owner withheld his salary for two months, leaving the family in financial distress during the recent Eid-ul-Adha holiday.
Tensions escalated on Saturday when the victim’s husband attempted to set fishing nets in a nearby river. The victim alleged that Shafiq attempted to seize the gear, leading to a confrontation where the youth leader used a makeshift weapon—a plastic pipe reinforced with an iron rod—to beat her husband. When the victim attempted to intervene and protect her husband, she was also subjected to the assault. She further accused the Juba Dal leader of operating an illegal drug trade involving Yaba at his farm.
Efforts to reach Shafiq for comment via telephone were unsuccessful. However, in discussions with local media, he denied the allegations of assault and claimed the conflict stemmed from a personal dispute. He asserted that the victim’s husband had stolen fish from his farm and alleged that the couple had attacked him first, resulting in a nose injury.
Local law enforcement officials confirmed they are investigating the incident. Mohammad Lutfar Rahman, officer-in-charge of Char Jabbar Police Station, stated that while no formal written complaint had been filed as of Saturday, authorities initiated a search for the accused immediately upon viewing the viral footage. Police have been dispatched to the area, and officials have pledged to take legal action as soon as a formal complaint is processed.
