A tense calm has settled over parts of Chattogram following a night of violent unrest triggered by the alleged attempted rape of a four-year-old girl, leaving at least 30 people injured and large parts of the Bakalia neighbourhood shuttered and on edge.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of 21 May in the Chairman's Ghat area when an employee at a local decoration shop in Abu Zafar Road allegedly lured the child into the premises and attempted to assault her. Once the news spread, hundreds of residents surrounded the building where the suspect was being held and demanded immediate justice.
Police from the Bakalia station and senior officers from Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) arrived at the scene, rescued the child, and took the accused into custody. When officers attempted to transfer the suspect in a police vehicle, a crowd of locals blocked the convoy and demanded that the man be handed over to them. Around 10pm, as the confrontation intensified, police deployed tear gas shells, sound grenades, and baton charges to disperse the crowd.
The unrest continued intermittently through the night. Several journalists became trapped inside a community centre during the chaos. When a police officer entered the building, the crowd outside began vandalising the ground and first floors. Officers later assisted in extracting the journalists. Windows of a nearby madrasah, where the suspect had earlier been held, were also smashed.
At its peak, the police response involved more than 1,000 personnel alongside five platoons of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Armed Police Battalions (APBn). CMP Deputy Commissioner for the South Zone, Hossain Mohammad Kabir Bhuiyan, confirmed to journalists around 1:30am that the suspect was in custody and that legal proceedings would be initiated against those responsible for attacks and vandalism during the protests.
Among the 30 injured were two journalists, Mamun Abdullah and Nobel Hasan, both from the local newspaper Chattogram Pratidin, who were receiving treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital on Thursday morning. Police officers and protesters were also among those hurt.
By midday on Thursday, no formal case had yet been filed in connection with the alleged assault. CMP Assistant Commissioner for Media, Md Amirul Rashid, said the legal process was under way but added that no additional arrests had been made. Patrols and surveillance in the area have been reinforced.
Residents returning to the neighbourhood on Thursday morning found bricks and stones strewn across the road, most shops still closed, and public movement noticeably subdued. Many said fear of potential arrests was keeping people indoors.
Speaking near the scene, resident Md Rubel described the night as one of widespread panic. “No one can accept such a barbaric act against such a small child,” he said, adding that people had taken to the streets out of sheer anger. Another local, Jannatul Ferdous, said a sense of insecurity around children now gripped the community. She called for a swift trial and exemplary punishment, warning that without accountability, offenders would escape justice.
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