Police have arrested three leaders of the Awami League from Pabna district in a raid in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. The arrests were made late on Monday at a building near Priyanka Community Centre on Iqbal Road in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.
The operation took place on the building’s fifth floor. Ishwardi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Asaduzzaman Rahman confirmed the arrests on Tuesday morning, according to the information provided in the report.
The arrested men are Abul Kalam Azad Mintu, general secretary of the Ishwardi upazila Awami League and a former mayor of Ishwardi Municipality; Shahidul Islam Ratan, president of the Atgharia upazila Awami League and a former mayor of Atgharia Municipality; and Moklesur Rahman Mintu, a former general secretary of the Awami League and former chairman of the Ishwardi Upazila Parishad.
According to the officer-in-charge, the three leaders had travelled to Dhaka from Ishwardi and Atgharia after 5 August 2024 and had been living in hiding. The police alleged that, while staying in the capital, they maintained regular telephone contact with senior Awami League leaders and attempted to strengthen party activities in their respective localities.
Police also said that multiple cases had been filed against the three men. However, the information provided did not specify the full details of those cases or the allegations in each one.
OC Asaduzzaman Rahman said Abul Kalam Azad Mintu had gone into hiding after securing bail in a case related to the anti-discrimination movement. Shahidul Islam Ratan and Moklesur Rahman Mintu, meanwhile, had been on the run since 5 August 2024, according to the police.
The arrests come against the backdrop of significant political changes in Bangladesh following the events of 5 August 2024. The period since then has seen legal cases brought against political figures and party activists, alongside arrests and reports of individuals going into hiding. Local political leaders have also faced scrutiny over their alleged activities during and after the period of unrest.
The latest operation in Mohammadpur brings three former and serving local-level Awami League figures into police custody. Further details about the cases against them, any subsequent court proceedings and the next steps in the legal process were not available in the information provided.
The allegations against the three men remain subject to the legal process. Their arrest does not, in itself, establish guilt; the merits of the cases must be determined through the relevant judicial proceedings.
