Some students of Jagannath University (JnU), including Md Noor Nabi, were detained from the entry gate while they were trying to enter the campus around 12:11pm on 19 July.

During the detention of Noor Nabi, some journalists, other students and JnU Proctor Prof Dr Mohammad Jahangir Hossain were present at the scene.
According to the video and still photos of the scene, the fourth-year student of the Islamic History Studies department had one of his hands bandaged during the detention.

However, he was later shown arrested in a case filed at Shahbagh Police Station under the Explosive Substances Act.

According to the first information report (FIR) of the case filed by sub-inspector of Lalbagh Zonal team of the Detective Branch (DB) of police Tawhidul Islam, Noor Nabi was arrested from Shahbagh, far from the JnU campus, with a bag full of crude and petrol bombs at 01:05am.

The FIR statement said apart from Noor Nabi, other persons were arrested by a flower shop near the Sheikh Jamal National Tennis Complex while 20-25 unnamed persons fled the scene, much to the surprise of eyewitnesses of his detention and the video footage of the time that the correspondent had watched.

It also said after frisking the body of Noor Nabi, police found 12 crude bombs in a white bag.

Talking to the Daily Sun on Sunday evening, JnU Proctor Prof Dr Mohammad Jahangir Hossain said he was present at the scene during the detection of Noor Nabi, which happened in broad daylight.

“Some students, including Noor Nabi, came to me seeking permission to take out a protest procession after Jumma prayers. I talked to them for around 30 minutes and later, police picked him up along with others,” he said.

The JnU proctor also said one of his hands was bandaged at the time of his detention.

Shakirul Islam, a third-year student of JnU who was covering the event as a journalist, told the Daily Sun that there was no bag with him during the arrest and one of his hands was bandaged.

He said, “Noor Nabi was one of the co-coordinators of the quota reform movement. He had broken his hands during clashes the day before his detention. During the detection, several hundred students and teachers were present at the scene.”    

Noor Nabi’s counsel Md Mujahidul Islam said, “The police officer staged a drama after picking Noor Nabi up from his university campus. He was shown arrested from Shahbagh with crude bombs. He had a broken arm when he was arrested. How is it possible to carry a bag full of bombs with a broken hand? We raised these issues in the court but he was denied bail.”

He said they will move the High Court with the matter.

Asked about the matter, DB sub-inspector Ruhul Amin, also the investigation officer of the case, refused to make any comments, asking this correspondent to contact his higher officials.