Five senior army officers of Bangladesh including Sheikh Hasina’s former ADC placed under house arrest

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, April 10, 2025

Altogether five senior officers of the Bangladesh Army—two brigadiers, a colonel, a lieutenant colonel and a major—have been placed under 'house arrest' at Dhaka Cantonment on charges of firing upon crowd during the July-August mass agitation last year.According to a report from Dhaka the officers had been confined to their official residences on April 5, a day before Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman departed for an official five-day visit to Russia and Croatia. Sources from Dhaka said that the army chief Wakar-Uj-Zaman had cleared the action on the basis of findings of the international crime tribunal (ICT).

Bangladesh’s interim government has not identified the five officers publicly. But sources from Dhaka said that the five officers are Brig Gen S M Zakaria Hussain from the Engineers Brigade, Brig Gen Imran Hamid from the Infantry Brigade, who was also ADC to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Col Abdullah Al-Momen from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Lt Col Muhammad Redwanul Islam from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Maj Md Noman Al Faruk from the East Bengal Regiment. “They are currently under 24-hour surveillance and have been relieved of all active duties. Their movements are restricted and they are barred from leaving the country,” said sources from Dhaka.

"This is an open arrest. They remain within their residences, but under close watch, They have been removed from their respective assignments and cannot exit the country under any circumstances,” sources from Dhaka said.This move comes amid growing concerns within military and civilian circles about the escape of at least 627 officers and their spouses in the months following the student protests. These included individuals from the army, police, civil administration and Hasina’s party Awami League.It remains unclear when formal Courts of Inquiry will be convened for the five detained officers. “Proceedings may begin once the ICT completes and circulates the necessary documentation to both the military and interim government authorities,” sources said.

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