After being ‘missing’ for four days, quota reform leader Tarek Rahman on Wednesday appeared in a video message on the social media saying he is safe and has not been arrested.
Around 6pm, flanked by his father who on Monday told the media his son was missing for two days, Tarek went live from his Facebook account.
“I have not been arrested. See, my father is here with me. Do not report untrue facts and mislead the people,” he was heard saying in the video. The location was not clear, but it appeared to be a busy street with car horns and rickshaw bells being heard on the background.
“Is it at all possible, that someone will be arrested or remanded for printing leaflets and banners? My whole family was worrying. There was no reason to hold a media briefing by my parents,” Tarek was heard in the live stream.
He claimed that he went underground on Saturday as he was followed by some people at the capital’s Fakirapool area.
“I went there to order leaflets and banners at a printing press. As soon as I realised I was being followed by several people, I fled the scene, but my phone was with someone else and it’s still not with me. I have managed to access my Facebook account and went live. I am unwell and have seen a doctor. I am not mentally stable as well,” Tarek said.
Tarek, a joint convener of the Council to Protect Students' Rights which has been leading protest, urged fellow demonstrators to keep faith on the prime minister. “Certain quarters are trying to reap political benefit out of the movement. Be aware of it; the quota reform movement had no political agenda.”
Earlier in the day, in a Facebook post, Tarek addressed the same issues.
His social media appearance comes two days after a media briefing, where his parents Md Abdul Latif and Shahana Begum claimed their son was missing.
Referring to their daughter who had the last conversation with Tarek on 14 July, the father said that his son believed he was being followed.
Later, his phone was switched off, the father informed.
A Cumilla University graduate, Tarek lived with his sister in Dhaka and was preparing to take the Bangladesh Civil Service exams, according to the family.
However, despite several attempts, Tarek and his father could not be reached for a comment as their phones were found switched off.