Inspector arrested in connection with piling up bodies on van in Ashulia
A 1-minute and 14-second video went viral on social media, showing two policemen grabbing the arms and legs of a dead body and throwing it onto a van already stacked with bodies
A police inspector has been arrested in connection with an incident of piling up bodies on a van in front of the Ashulia police station during the protests led by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
Inspector Arafat Hossain was arrested from Aftabnagar and is being taken to Ashulia police station, confirmed RAB Media Wing Assistant Director ANM Emran Khan.
Arafat is an inspector of Dhaka District DB North, and he was spotted in a video of bodies being loaded on a paddle van on 5 August in front of the Ashulia police station.
The 1-minute and 14-second video went viral on social media, showing two policemen grabbing the arms and legs of a dead body and throwing it onto a van already stacked with bodies.
Subsequently, it was geolocated by Qadaruddin Shishir, a fact-checker for AFP's Bangladesh office, and pinpointed to a spot near Ashulia Police Station, raising a tremendous hue and cry on social media.
There were also allegations that some bodies had been burned near or on the station premises during the mayhem.
Our Savar correspondent estimated that over 40 were killed on the day alone in Savar-Ashulia, while residents claim it to be far higher.
Some of the officers involved were also identified as attached to Ashulia police station.
On 1 September, the police formed a four-member investigation committee comprising Additional SP and DB officials to investigate the incident of the video, which went viral on social media.