Golam Dastagir Gazi, Bangladesh’s former textile and jute minister, has been arrested as part of a broader crackdown on officials and ministers from the ousted Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to media reports on Sunday.
The 76-year-old Gazi was apprehended late Saturday night at a residence in the Piergoli area of Dhaka. The arrest occurred around 3 a.m., as reported by The Daily Star, citing Paltan police station officer-in-charge Mollah Mohammad Khalid Hussain. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police took Gazi into custody and transported him to the Detective Branch (DB) office, as noted by The Dhaka Tribune.
Gazi remains at the DB office due to damage sustained by the local police station in recent violence, according to Hussain. Following his arrest, a group of individuals reportedly surrounded the residence where Gazi was initially detained. However, specific details about the charges leading to his arrest have not been disclosed by the police officer.
Previously, a murder case was lodged against 105 individuals, including Gazi and Sheikh Hasina, at the Rupganj police station in Narayanganj. Gazi was elected as the Member of Parliament from the Rupganj-1 constituency in January’s 12th parliamentary elections, representing the Awami League with the party’s boat symbol.
On Saturday, a Dhaka court placed several high-profile figures under various terms of remand for questioning in connection with four separate murder cases. The individuals include Salman F Rahman, private industry affairs adviser to Hasina, former law minister Anisul Huq, and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni, among others. Additionally, former chief whip ASM Feroz and former army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan are also under remand in related murder cases.
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The arrest and remand of these officials follow significant political upheaval. Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India on August 5 amid widespread protests against the quota reform system in Bangladesh. Since then, many leaders of the Awami League have gone into hiding. The new interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, assumed power in Bangladesh on August 8, taking over after the fall of Hasina’s administration.
