Police have arrested Bidisha Ershad, the second wife of former President and Jatiya Party founder Hussain Muhammad Ershad, in connection with a court-issued arrest warrant.

Bidisha was arrested from the Gulshan area of the capital Dhaka at around 8.30pm on Tuesday, 25 August, Gulshan Police Station Officer-in-Charge Daud Hossain confirmed.

According to the police officer, Bidisha had been sentenced by a court to two years in prison and fined Tk10,000 in a fraud case. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued in connection with the court’s verdict. Police later took her into custody to execute that warrant.

The arrest therefore stems from the court’s order in the fraud case rather than from any fresh allegation made against her on Tuesday. Police said they acted on the warrant issued following the verdict.

Bidisha Ershad has remained a known public figure in Bangladesh because of her marriage to Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who founded the Jatiya Party and served as Bangladesh’s president from 1983 until his resignation in 1990. Ershad died in July 2019.

His political career and personal life have frequently attracted public attention, and Bidisha has also been involved in public and political discussions over the years. Her relationship with Ershad and subsequent activities have periodically brought her into the spotlight.

The latest development, however, is centred on a criminal case in which a court has already delivered a verdict. Under normal legal procedure, when a court issues an arrest warrant following a sentence, law enforcement authorities are responsible for executing the warrant and presenting the accused or convicted person before the appropriate judicial process.

Gulshan police said further legal proceedings would be carried out in accordance with the court’s order. Details of the fraud case, including the nature of the allegations and the court in which the sentence was handed down, were not immediately disclosed by the police officer who confirmed the arrest.

The arrest marks another legal development involving Bidisha, who has remained a recognisable figure in Bangladesh’s political and public sphere. Her case will now proceed according to the relevant judicial procedures following the execution of the arrest warrant.