Police officers offer apology for arresting student on bail

The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Patuakhali Sadar police station, Md Moniruzzaman, and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Mizanur Rahman have issued an unconditional apology to the High Court for the arrest of a student named Ashraful Howlader, who was already on anticipatory bail.

During a hearing on Sunday (23 July), the High Court bench, comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam, scheduled a follow-up hearing next Monday due to the victim's lawyer's inability to present the call record of a conversation with the police concerning his client's bail. 

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) declined to provide the call record without a court order.

On 21 May, the High Court summoned the OC and ASI of Patuakhali police stations after being made aware of a news report titled "Student on bail got arrested," presented by lawyer Ali Ahsan Molla.

In response to the court's summons, the police officers appeared before the court on 18 June and offered their apologies unconditionally. However, the court did not accept the apology and ordered them to appear before it on Sunday (23 July).

The court also issued a rule, inquiring why appropriate legal action should not be taken against the concerned individuals for tarnishing the reputation of the country's criminal justice system through purposeful arrests that disregard existing bail orders.