Jhenaidah volunteer wing leader arrested at Benapole border on terror charges

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Police at the Benapole border crossing detained Shahriar Karim, the Jhenaidah district president of the Awami League’s volunteer wing, Shechchasebak League, as he attempted to travel to India on Wednesday. The arrest took place at the Benapole immigration checkpoint, leading to his subsequent transfer to the Benapole Port Police Station and later to Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station.

Authorities confirmed that Karim was formally arrested and remanded to judicial custody on Thursday in connection with an anti-terrorism case. The charges stem from a protest involving the Bangladesh Chhatra League in Jhenaidah, according to Md. Asaduzzaman, the officer-in-charge of the Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station.

Karim, a resident of Arappur Ukilpara in Jhenaidah municipality, had been identified as an accused in a criminal case filed in 2024. While his family maintains that he was traveling for medical treatment using a valid visa and was currently out on bail for the pending charge, police proceeded with the formal arrest upon his interception at the border.

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Following his transfer from Benapole, Karim was presented before a local court, which ordered him to be held in jail. His relatives maintain that he had been residing at his home while adhering to legal requirements following his previous bail, and they contend that his detention interrupted a planned medical trip.