A man arrested in Sylhet's Jaintiapur and identified as a Chhatra League leader is actually a Jamaat-e-Islami official, his family and local Jamaat leaders have claimed, raising questions over his political identity and the grounds for his arrest.

Kaisar Mahmud Sohel, 28, was arrested on November 12 in connection with the November 9 incident in Haripur, where Awami League leader Zakaria Mahmud was snatched from police custody while still handcuffed.

Police said Sohel was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act. He was subsequently sent to prison by a court.

Following his arrest, several media outlets identified Sohel as a joint general secretary of the Sylhet Metropolitan Chhatra League.

They said Sohel was a member of Ward No. 2 of the Chiknagul Union Jamaat unit and served as organising secretary of its youth wing.

The family also challenged the claim that Sohel held a Chhatra League position.

According to them, his name does not appear among the 21 joint general secretaries listed in the Sylhet Metropolitan Chhatra League's full committee, issued on October 1, 2026, under the signatures of central President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan.

Sohel's mother, Kamala Akter Rosie, a retired Ansar instructor in Jaintiapur, alleged that her son had been implicated because of a previous dispute.

She told Daily Waadaa Sohel had participated in the government's National Service Programme, an employment initiative for unemployed young people, and attended several government and private events alongside Awami League leaders and activists.

Photographs from those events and a fabricated Chhatra League committee document were used to falsely portray him as a Chhatra League leader, she alleged.

Local Jamaat leader Zahir Uddin also protested the arrest in a Facebook post, claiming Sohel had no involvement in the Haripur incident.

He alleged that the arrest was politically motivated.

Mizanur Rahman, general secretary of the Chiknagul Union Jamaat unit, confirmed Sohel's association with the party.

"Sohel has been involved in Jamaat politics for a long time," he told Waadaa.

Mizanur alleged that police had acted on incorrect information. He said the local Jamaat unit had condemned the arrest and was assisting Sohel's family.

He called for an impartial investigation.

Police, however, defended the arrest.

Jaintiapur Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Mahbubur Rahman Molla said Sohel had been arrested on the basis of specific allegations and evidence.

"Police take legal action based on appropriate information and evidence," he told Waadaa.

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