Mahdi and several other activists of the Students Against Discrimination movement had gone to Shayestaganj Police Station to secure the release of a former Chhatra League leader who had been detained.
Ahmed Reza Hasan Mahdi, member secretary of the Students Against Discrimination movement. Photo: TBS
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Ahmed Reza Hasan Mahdi, member secretary of the Students Against Discrimination movement. Photo: TBS
Immigration police stopped Ahmed Reza Hasan Mahdi, member secretary of the Students Against Discrimination movement in Habiganj, from travelling abroad at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka last night (8 October).
Mahdi, who had previously come into the spotlight after a video circulated in which he is heard saying, “We had burned down the police station,” was scheduled to travel to Jamaica via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways flight EY-383 around 9:30pm.
During passport checks at the immigration counter, the immigration system flagged his passport as “stop-listed.” He was subsequently sent to the Immigration Prosecution Office.
Kamrul Ahsan, additional superintendent of police with the immigration police responsible for the airport, confirmed the matter to The Business Standard.
However, he said Mahdi has not been arrested.
According to an immigration officer, a case was filed against Mahdi at Shayestaganj Police Station on 3 January this year. Registered as GR-1/2026, the case mentions Sections 143, 486, 189, and 34 of the Penal Code. Immigration authorities said Mahdi was sent back because he is subject to a travel ban.
Video of police station remarks went viral
Mahdi came into the spotlight in January this year after a video showing a heated exchange between him and police at Shayestaganj Police Station circulated on social media.
In the video, he can be heard saying, “We burned down Baniachong Police Station.”
Media reports at the time said Mahdi and several other activists of the Students Against Discrimination movement had gone to Shayestaganj Police Station to secure the release of a former Chhatra League leader who had been detained.
Police arrested Mahdi on 3 January and filed a case against him over allegations of obstructing police work, issuing threats, and disrupting law and order at the police station. He was produced in court the following day and granted bail.
Mahdi later claimed that the statement had come out unintentionally amid a tense situation during discussions at the police station.
Meanwhile, in August this year, Mahdi was detained over a protest programme in the Court Mosque area of Habiganj town. Police said he was taken into custody to prevent possible disorder surrounding the programme, which had not been authorised. He was released around 21 hours later after his guardians signed a bond.
In February, Mahdi was also taken into the custody of immigration police at Delhi airport in India. Media reports at the time said he was later released.
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