Dhaka, April 11:
Five senior officers of the Bangladesh Army were placed under house arrest due to their alleged involvement in the student-led revolt that shook the country in July last year. According to a report, the officers were confined to their official residences within Dhaka Cantonment on April 5, under heavy surveillance and with strict restrictions on their movement. This action occurred while Bangladesh’s Army Chief, General Waqar Uz Zaman, was on an official visit to Russia. Sources suggest that the timing of this move has heightened international interest in the political situation emerging from Dhaka.
The action comes as Bangladesh’s Army Chief, General Waqar Uz Zaman, is on an official visit to Russia. Sources suggest the timing of the move has sparked increased international interest in the political situation beginning in Dhaka.
The officers reportedly under house arrest include two brigadiers, a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, and a major. Indian intelligence agencies have identified them as Brigadier General SM Zakaria Hussain (Engineers Brigade), Brigadier General Imran Hamid (Infantry Brigade), Colonel Abdullah Al-Momen (Rapid Action Battalion), Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Ridwanul Islam (Border Guard Bangladesh), and Major Mohammad Noman Al Farooq (East Bengal Regiment). Brigadier Imran Hamid is a former aide-de-camp (ADC) to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
All five officers are under 24-hour surveillance and have been deprived of their official duties. They are barred from leaving their residences or the country. The interim government has not yet made any official statement disclosing their identities or the charges filed. Sources confirm that the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has initiated legal proceedings against them.
The ICT submitted its findings recently, prompting General Zaman who had previously hesitated about taking action without substantial evidence to authorize the house arrests. “It is an open arrest. They stay in their homes but are under strict surveillance,” an officer told reporters.
Meanwhile, the political troubles for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina continue to escalate. After stepping down in August following the July uprising and fleeing to India, she now faces fresh legal challenges. A Bangladeshi court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and 17 others in connection with a corruption case involving alleged fraudulent acquisition of residential plots.
The convergence of legal action against military officers and former political leaders highlights the strained political climate in Bangladesh, raising questions about the country’s immediate future and stability.
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