Former CEC Awal put on 3-day remand in sedition case

A Dhaka court has granted a three-day remand for former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal in connection with a sedition case filed at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station.

The order was issued by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mostafizur Rahman on Thursday following a hearing. Awal was presented before the court earlier in the day. Investigating officer Sub-Inspector Shamsuzzoha Sarkar of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station had sought a 10-day remand for interrogation.

Awal was arrested on Wednesday from the Moghbazar area of the capital by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). Earlier, on June 23, the court had granted a four-day remand for former CEC A.K.M. Nurul Huda in the same case. He is currently in custody.

The case was filed on June 22 by the opposition party BNP, accusing the Election Commission under the former Awami League government of failing to uphold its constitutional responsibilities. The complaint alleges that elections were conducted without public participation and under intimidation.

On June 25, additional charges of sedition, fraud, and embezzlement were added to the case.

The accused include former CECs Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad (2014), A.K.M. Nurul Huda (2018), and Kazi Habibul Awal (2024). Also named are former Inspectors General of Police (IGP) Hasan Mahmud Khandker, A.K.M. Shahidul Haque, Javed Patwary, Benazir Ahmed, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.