The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has detained Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, former Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad. She was taken into custody from her residence on Road 8/A in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, around 4:30am on Tuesday.
DB Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam confirmed the matter on Tuesday morning, saying that she has been brought to the DB office and remains in their custody.
There are two cases against Shirin Sharmin at Uttara and Banani police stations, and she will be shown arrested in one of them, the police official said.
A decision has not yet been made on whether remand will be sought for her. She will be produced before the court around noon, he added.
The former speaker faces legal proceedings related to violence during the July mass uprising in 2024. Specifically, a murder case was filed on 27 August following the death of Muslim Uddin, a 38-year-old goldsmith who was fatally shot in Rangpur.
The case was lodged by the victim’s wife, Dilruba Akhter, at the Metropolitan Kotwali Amali Court. It names 17 individuals, including Shirin Sharmin and former commerce minister Tipu Munshi, who is already in prison.
According to police, she is accused of a total of six cases.
She served as the speaker for three consecutive parliaments under the Sheikh Hasina regime. First elected to the post on 30 April 2013, she remained in the role following the 2018 general election and was re-elected after the 7 January 2024 polls.
Since the student-led mass uprising on 5 August 2024, she had not been seen in public.
