Bangladesh’s former textile and jute minister arrested in Dhaka

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s former textile and jute minister Golam Dastagir Gazi has been arrested here as the police take stern measures against officials and ministers of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, according to media reports on Sunday.

The 76-year-old leader was detained late Saturday night from a house in the Piergoli area of the capital Dhaka around 3 am, The Daily Star newspaper quoted Paltan police station officer-in-charge Mollah Mohammad Khalid Hussain as saying.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police detained him and brought him to the Detective Branch (DB) office, according to The Dhaka Tribune.

Gazi was kept at the DB office as the police station is badly damaged following recent violence, Hussain said, adding that a group of people besieged the house after knowing his location there.

However, the police officer did not provide any details regarding the case for which he was arrested.

Earlier, a case of murder was filed against 105 individuals, including Hasina and Gazi, at Rupganj police station in Narayanganj.

Gazi was elected MP from Rupganj-1 constituency in Narayanganj in the 12th parliamentary elections held in January with Awami League’s boat symbol.

On Saturday, a Dhaka court placed Salman F Rahman, private industry affairs adviser to Hasina, former law minister Anisul Huq, former social welfare minister Dipu Moni and two others on different terms of remand for interrogation in four murder cases.

Apart from the three, former chief whip ASM Feroz and former army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan were also placed on remand in murder cases.

Cases have been filed against many officials or ministers of the ousted Hasina-led government after she resigned and fled to India on August 5 following massive protests against the quota reform system in Bangladesh.

Most leaders of the Awami League have gone into hiding since Hasina's resignation.

Many Hasina-led Awami League party members are in jail after the new interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge on August 8 following the fall of the previous government.