Bangladesh off-spinner Nayeem Hasan says he wants “a fair investigation and justice” after an uncomfortable encounter with police officers in Chattogram on Friday night. The 25-year-old was travelling home from Dhaka airport in a CNG auto-rickshaw when the vehicle was stopped near Lalkhan Bazar, a busy junction a few kilometres from his house.
According to Nayeem, the officers appeared agitated from the outset. He told reporters on Saturday: “I repeatedly told them who I was, but they refused to listen. The police beat me indiscriminately with sticks and plastic pipes. Later, when I identified myself at the police station, the officer-in-charge told me to keep my eyes down while speaking.”
Witnesses, Nayeem says, tried to intervene, pointing out that he is a current Bangladesh international. The officers, he adds, still bundled him into another auto-rickshaw rather than a marked police van. “If they were really police officers, why did they try to put me into a CNG instead of a police vehicle?” he asked. “I want a fair investigation and justice over the entire incident.”
He was released during the small hours of Saturday and able to return home, shaken but without major injury.
Police response
Chattogram Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Amirul Islam acknowledged procedural concerns. “It appears initially that the officers involved did not follow proper procedures during the operation,” he told the Daily Sun. “We will ensure that he [Nayeem] receives justice, and whoever is found responsible will be brought under punishment.”
Board and players’ body react
Within hours, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) issued a strongly worded statement. “The Bangladesh Cricket Board expresses its deep concern regarding the reported incident involving harassment and abuse of Bangladesh national team cricketer Nayeem Hasan by some law enforcing agency members in Chattogram on Friday evening,” it read. “The board strongly condemns the unacceptable and inappropriate conduct displayed towards the player and views the matter with the utmost seriousness. Such treatment of a national athlete is deeply regrettable and warrants immediate attention. The BCB expects a thorough and impartial investigation into the incident and urges the relevant authorities to take appropriate action against those found responsible.”
The Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh echoed that stance, calling for “strict action” if any misconduct is proven.
What happens next?
An internal police inquiry is underway. Discipline cases of this nature normally begin with a fact-finding report, followed—if evidence stacks up—by departmental hearings. Outcomes can range from warnings to dismissal or even criminal charges, though such processes often take weeks.
For Nayeem, attention will soon turn back to cricket. He has been named in Bangladesh’s 15-strong squad for the one-off Test in Zimbabwe later this month and, fitness permitting, remains in line for his 15th cap. Coaching staff privately admit the incident is an unwelcome distraction but do not expect it to affect selection.
A reminder, though, of where priorities currently sit came from the player himself: “I just want this resolved properly, then I can focus on the Zimbabwe tour.”
