Police seek 7-day remand for retired major Khondaker Hafiz

Police have sought a seven-day remand to quiz Major (retd) Dr Khondaker Abdul Hafiz in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Inspector Sheikh Bashir Ahmed of the Detective Branch (DB) submitted the remand petition before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Sunday.

A hearing on the petition is scheduled to be held on Sunday afternoon, said state prosecutor Harun-or-Rashid.

According to the remand petition, investigators have found that Khondaker Abdul Hafiz was involved in anti-government activities, inciting violence, fundraising and creating and disseminating digitally produced content in collaboration with his associates including former army officers Lt (retd) Kazi Gulshan Ara and Lt Colonel (retd) Debashish.

The petition further alleged that Hafiz maintained contact with former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed, a former home minister and fugitive senior leaders through a platform named “Unity Care Public Parliament.”

The petition also claimed that he was involved in efforts to rehabilitate the Awami League and in an alleged conspiracy against the state adding that he was also accused of creating and sharing content through his Facebook account and other social media platforms to incite violence and instability.

The police petition further claimed that the accused was involved in illegal financing of activities of a banned organisation, spreading hatred among different sections of society, inciting communal violence and spreading propaganda against the government.

It also alleged that since 5 August 2024, he had been involved in conspiracies and propaganda against the government and Bangladesh, along with people accused in arms cases and their associates.

Police cited six grounds for seeking seven days of remand including— identifying the other suspects; identifying local and foreign individuals allegedly involved in the activities; recovering digital evidence; determining whether the accused operated any other websites or social media pages; uncovering the motive behind the case; and examining the evidence recovered from him.