Pabna, Oct 01 (V7N) – Police detained 15 people, including Abdul Wahab, president of the Sujanagar upazila unit of the Awami League and a former upazila chairman, in Pabna city on Wednesday morning while they were allegedly preparing to carry out violence and bring out a procession.

The detainees were taken into custody around 5:45am from in front of Indira Mor on Abdul Hamid Road in the city, according to police.

Police said the group had allegedly gathered in Pabna city in a microbus to carry out acts of violence. They also alleged that the group planned to flee to India after the operation.

The Detective Branch (DB), Crime Response Team (CRT), Sadar police and other units of the district police jointly conducted the operation based on confidential information.

Pabna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tariqul Islam said the group had allegedly made preparations for a major act of violence in the city.

“We had prior information about their plan. Based on the intelligence, different units of the district police conducted a coordinated operation and detained them,” he said.

Police also claimed that hand bombs and locally made weapons were recovered from the group and that some of the detainees had passports with them. The detainees were later shown arrested in a case filed over the alleged preparations and produced before a court.

The other detainees were identified as Rabbi, 23; Mithun Mia, 30; Md Hridoy, 20; Faisal, 18; Arafat Hossain Shuvo, 18; Shimul Pramanik, 16; Mizan Pramanik, 18; Alhaz Khan, 24; Nazmul Hasan, 18; Matiur Rahman, 32; Ranjur Sheikh, 17; Sabik, 19; Nazmul Hossain, 19; and another person whose identity was not immediately available.

This was reportedly the third time Abdul Wahab had been detained since Aug 5, 2024.

Police first detained Wahab from the Mathurapur area on Feb 2, 2025. He was allegedly taken away from a police van by local Awami League activists while being taken into custody, leaving eight police personnel injured. Police arrested him again on Feb 5.

After being released on bail, Wahab and his supporters allegedly attempted to resume Awami League activities in the Sujanagar area.

On April 23 this year, police conducted an overnight operation in Mathurapur and detained 21 leaders and activists of the Awami League, Chhatra League and Jubo League, including Wahab. They were later released on bail several weeks afterward.

A source claimed that Wahab had previously enjoyed the support of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been staying in India since leaving Bangladesh. The source further claimed that Wahab had planned to flee to India after the alleged violence and meet Hasina there.

The claims regarding the alleged plan to meet Hasina and Wahab’s political ambitions could not be independently verified.

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