“Catch them, one by one, and inform us.”

A video showing Netrokona's Purbadhala Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shafiqul Islam making the remark in connection with a flash procession by the banned Chhatra League has circulated widely on social media.Last Friday morning, several local BCL activists brought out a flash procession in Purbadhala. After a video of the procession circulated on social media, police conducted a raid that night and arrested six people.

Some alleged that this kind of remark could encourage the tendency to take the law into one’s own hands and create the risks of “mob violence.”

Later, a meeting was held at the UNO’s office with local BNP leaders and activists. A video of the meeting went viral on Monday morning.

In the video, UNO Shafiqul asks the BNP activists, “Who brought out the procession?” They reply, “Chhatra League. We then brought out a protest procession.”

The UNO responds, “Why are you holding protest processions? Catch them, one by one, and inform us.”

In response, the BNP leaders said, “We have already handed over six people.” The UNO is then heard saying, “They brought out a procession... don’t you have local leaders? What are they doing?”

However, speaking to The Daily Star, the UNO said, “Many leaders and activists had come to my office for a tree-sapling distribution programme. The remark was made during a casual conversation and was not intentional. It may have slipped out unintentionally. Many other things were also discussed at the time. The context would be clear if the full conversation were heard.”

Contacted, Masum Mostafa, MP for Netrokona-5 (Purbadhala), said, “I have seen the video, but not everything is clearly audible. From what I understand, he cannot ask party activists to take the law into their own hands. Any such instruction should be directed to the administration or police. Remarks like this could create a risk of mob violence. I will speak to him about the matter.”