Ex-army officer Masud Uddin Chowdhury arrested

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury, a prominent figure during the 1/11 army-backed caretaker government.

DB chief Shafiqul Islam confirmed the arrest on Tuesday morning (March 24), saying that Masud Uddin Chowdhury is facing around five cases.

He was arrested from a residence on Road No. 2 in the Baridhara DOHS area of the capital and taken to the DB office on Monday night (March 23).

In 2007, Masud Uddin served as the GOC of the 9th Division of the Bangladesh Army and played a key role during the 1/11 army-backed caretaker government. At that time, he was appointed coordinator of the National Coordination Committee for Combating Serious Crimes, under which anti-corruption operations were conducted. He was later promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Masud Uddin was elected twice as the MP of the Feni-3 constituency on the nomination of the Jatiya Party (JaPa). In the 2018 11th national parliamentary election, he initially purchased nomination forms from the Awami League but later joined the Jatiya Party. He also became a member of the party’s policymaking Presidium.