‘Please spare him, my grandson is not involved with politics’

“O police bhai, amar natida nirdhosh, oy kono rajniti kore na [O brother police, my grandson is innocent, he is not involved with politics.]”
Sitting on the floor at the Narayanganj court premises yesterday noon, 65-year-old Jhunu Begum kept on saying this.
She was wailing for her 19-year-old grandson, Arif Hossain, who was picked up by policemen in plainclothes from his home on July 23 when he was sleeping after returning from work.
Arif was produced before the court yesterday under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and later shown arrested in a case lodged by police with Sonargaon Police Station under the Explosives Act.
According to family members, Arif is a mason by profession in Parameshwardi village in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila.
Mentionable, district BNP convener and former lawmaker Muhammad Giasuddin was shown as the prime accused in the case Arif was shown arrested, advocate Shamsul Islam Bhuiyan, Arif’s lawyer and president of Sonargaon upazila unit Awami League.
Meanwhile, Jhunu Begum tried desperately to find out what happened to her grandson. She kept staring at the prison vans used for sending the arrestees to jail. She finally caught a glimpse of Arif in one of the vans.
“I begged the officers not to take away my grandson. I kept telling them he is innocent, he has no political involvement, and he is a decent mason… But, no one paid any heed to my request.”
Jhunu Begum lost her husband seven years ago. She has two daughters. Arif was the elder son of her elder daughter. Jhunu now depends on her grandson’s earnings.
Yesterday, many like Jhunu Begum thronged the court premises to find their loved ones after they were picked up by law enforcers for allegedly having involvement with sabotage.
Four such young men were also picked up the same night from Parameshwardi village, and two of them were under 18, claimed their family members.
Md Alam, 18, is one of them. His father Akter Hossain is an AL activist, said Alam’s elder sister Shirina.
“My brother worked as a day labourer during the day and guarded a fish farm at night. The day he was picked up, Alam was on duty with four others at the farm. We told the police we belong to an Awami League-backed family and we have no engagement with the arson attacks but to no avail.”
Shirina showed The Daily Star an attestation with the signature of the president and general secretary of Naogaon ward AL unit backing the claim.
Sonargaon AL upazila unit president Shamsul Islam Bhuiyan, resident of the same village, also confirmed it.
This correspondent spoke with at least four other families who shared similar stories.
All of them belonged to low-income families, claimed family members. They also said they had no political connections.
Contacted, Golam Mostofa Russel, Narayanganj superintendent of police, said, “Police are conducting raids based on specific allegations and intelligence reports. Family members can make many types of claims, they have that right. But we are not harassing anyone unnecessarily.”
At least 27 cases were filed with five police stations in Narayanganj, where more than 5,000 people were accused.
Law enforcers arrested at least 512 people, including students, over allegations of involvement with arson attacks and vandalism amid quota reform protests in Narayanganj.