DT journalist was released five hours after his wrongful arrest by DB due to name confusion

He was released after it was confirmed that he was not the main accused in the case, Dhaka Tribune’s Bangla online edition reported around 12.15 pm tonight.

TBS Report

01 November 2024, 01:20

Last modified: 01 November 2024, 01:36

DT journo Mehedi Hasan Sagar and BCL leader Mehedi Hasan Sagar (marked in red). Photo collage: Dhaka Tribune

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DT journo Mehedi Hasan Sagar and BCL leader Mehedi Hasan Sagar (marked in red). Photo collage: Dhaka Tribune

DT journo Mehedi Hasan Sagar and BCL leader Mehedi Hasan Sagar (marked in red). Photo collage: Dhaka Tribune

Dhaka Tribune photojournalist Mehedi Hasan Sagar, who was wrongly arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch due to name confusion in the student movement vandalism case, was released five hours after his capture.

He was released after it was confirmed that he was not the main accused in the case, Dhaka Tribune’s Bangla online edition reported around 12.15 pm tonight.

Mehedi shares the same name as the main accused in the case filed against Shahbagh Police Station for vandalism in the Dhaka University area during the move, Dhaka Tribune reported earlier.

The journalist was arrested by DB men from the capital’s Kakrail area on Thursday evening (October 31) while he was on official duty covering an open-top bus trip for the SAFF-winning women’s football team.

“There is a case filed against Mehedi at Shahbagh Police Station. Their (Dhaka Tribune) allegations are being investigated,” DMP’s Deputy Commissioner (Public Relations) Md Talebur Rahman told The Business Standard earlier tonight.

According to the case statement seen by The Business Standard, Mehdi Hasan Sagar, from the 2017-18 session of the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, DU, has been named as accused number 134 in the case.

It was also stated that he was the organizing secretary of DU’s Sheikh Mujib Hall Chhatra League unit.

However, according to the students of that department, there is a Chhatra League leader with the same name and that photographer Mehedi Hasan was accidentally caught by DB. They are both classmates.

Biswajit Barua, Administrative Officer of the Ministry, said, “They are both students of our department. I know both of them. One is a journalist and the other is involved in politics.”

Apart from DT, Sagar worked for various international agencies, including the Associated Press, during the student movement.

“The boy who was walking around with a camera in his hand in July is today charged with murder!” Prominent photojournalist Jibon Ahmed condemned Sagar’s arrest on his Facebook profile.