84 detained at Addl DIG’s rental house

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained 84 people, including 26 women and an Afghan national, during a raid on a house rented out by an additional deputy inspector general (DIG) of Police Headquarters in the capital on Tuesday evening.
Additional Police Commissioner of the DB Md Shafiqul Islam confirmed the raid, saying it was conducted at a triplex house in Police Housing-1 under Vatara police station following intelligence reports of overnight DJ parties and suspected drug-related activities.
The DB chief said the house belonged to Abdullah Al Zahir, Additional DIG (Personal Management-2) of Police Headquarters.
Following the incident, Zahir was transferred from the Repair and Maintenance branch to Police Headquarters. An office order signed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir on Tuesday removed him from his previous assignment.
DB officials seized cannabis, yaba pills, alcohol, condoms and equipment used to consume yaba from the premises.
Zahir had rented out the property through Airbnb, an online platform for short- and long-term accommodation bookings.
Deputy Commissioner of the DB’s Uttara Division Ilias Kabir said the property was managed by a host and a co-host. Co-host Mahbubul Alam was among those detained. Although the house was rented through Airbnb, Zahir received 70% of the income generated from it, Kabir added.
The 84 detainees would face legal action, including a case under the Narcotics Control Act at Vatara Police Station, Kabir said.
According to DB officials, Zahir had attempted to influence the authorities to secure the release of the detained co-host during and after the raid.
The DB said illegal gatherings had allegedly been held at the two-and-a-half-storey house almost every night for a long time.
Several attempts were made to contact Zahir by mobile phone for comment on the allegations and the incident, but he did not respond.
Reacting to the incident, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader in Parliament Shafiqur Rahman said it reflected a deterioration in the country’s law and order situation.
He said crimes and anti-social activities, including extortion, mugging, looting and robbery, had reached alarming levels across the country. The involvement of a senior police official’s rented house in such activities had raised public concern and fear, he added.
He also pointed to rising commodity prices and problems with gas and electricity supplies, alleging that the government was focusing on tarnishing the opposition’s image instead of addressing public suffering and curbing wrongdoing.