A police raid on a property reportedly owned by a senior officer at Police Headquarters has raised questions about institutional accountability, after detectives detained 84 men and women and seized a large quantity of alcohol from the house in Dhaka.
The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) conducted the operation at the two-and-a-half-storey house in the Police Housing-1 area under Bhatara Police Station in the early hours of Tuesday.
The property belongs to Additional DIG Abdullah Al Zahir, who serves in the Personnel Management-2 branch at Police Headquarters, according
to DB sources.
A member of the 24th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) batch, he previously worked as staff officer to former Additional Inspector General of Police Mokhlesur Rahman.
The raid was led by Elias Kabir, deputy commissioner of the DB’s Uttara division. DB chief and Additional Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam confirmed the operation.
Additional Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Headquarters Abdullah Al Zahir has been made an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and attached to Police Headquarters after 85 people were detained from a house he had rented out, with drugs and women reportedly found there.
An office order signed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir on Tuesday (October 20) removed him from his post.
According to the order, Abdullah Al Zahir, Additional DIG (Repair and Maintenance), has been attached to Police Headquarters. The order will take effect immediately.
Meanwhile, DIG Abdullah Al Zahir has been made an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) and attached to Police Headquarters after 85 people were detained from a house he had rented out, with drugs and women reportedly found there.
An office order signed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir on Tuesday (October 20) removed him from his post.
According to the order, Abdullah Al Zahir, Additional DIG (Repair and Maintenance), has been attached to Police Headquarters. The order will take effect immediately.
Detective police sources said the house had allegedly been used for illegal activities and was rented out through Airbnb, a short-term accommodation platform.
Acting on the allegations, DB detectives raided the property and detained 84 men and women. A large quantity of alcohol was also seized.
The operation has drawn attention to allegations of illegal activities at a property reportedly owned by a serving senior police officer, although the nature of the alleged offences and the circumstances surrounding the detentions have yet to be established.
Repeated attempts were made to contact Additional DIG Abdullah Al Zahir by mobile phone for his comment on the raid. He did not answer, and his phone was later found to be switched off.
The DB has yet to disclose the quantity of alcohol seized or provide details of the legal action to be taken against those detained.