DHAKA: An active army officer was detained in Bangladesh on Tuesday over alleged extrajudicial killing of a politician during an anti-narcotics crackdown that left hundreds dead.
Over 460 people were killed during the nationwide anti-drug campaign launched in 2018, according to rights groups, with many deaths alleged to have occurred in staged gunfights involving security forces.
Bangladesh’s crimes tribunal accepted a complaint last week against 11 officials, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a former police chief and six serving and retired military officers, over the killing of Akramul Haque, a councillor in the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar.
The officer’s detention marks one of the most significant moves yet by the tribunal against those linked to actions taken during Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
“Brig Gen Miftahuddin Ahmed was taken into custody for further judicial proceedings,” army officer Samiud Dowla Chowdhury said.
Chief prosecutor Aminul Islam said investigators had submitted a report detailing the alleged involvement of the accused. The case centres on the killing of Akramul Haque, whom Hasina’s government had described as a “meth kingpin”.
The incident sparked outrage after Haque’s wife, Ayesha Akhter, released an audio recording that she said captured her husband’s final moments and contradicted official claims that he had died in a shootout.
In the recording, Haque can be heard speaking with his wife and children shortly before his death, while his young daughter asks: “Dad, why are you crying?”
Critics alleged at the time that authorities sought to suppress reporting on the case.
“We have been waiting for this day to come for the last eight years,” Akhter said.
“My family and I suffered immense pain, slander, neglect and mental distress, but we never lost hope,” she said. “We want to keep faith in our judicial system.”
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026