Police show former Cantonment OC arrested in sedition case, produce him in court

Police have shown Md Rakibul Hasan, former Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the capital's Cantonment Police Station, who came into discussion after an audio of his remarks about the government, police and various forces spread on social media, as arrested in a sedition case. On Thursday evening, September 24, he was produced before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, where the Detective Branch (DB) sought a seven-day remand. Dhaka Metropolitan Police also confirmed the matter.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Detective) Md Shafiqul Islam said a sedition case was filed against Rakibul Hasan at Cantonment Police Station on Thursday. He was then shown arrested in that case and sent to court with a seven-day remand application.

On the night of September 16, while serving as OC of Cantonment Police Station, an audio of Rakibul Hasan's conversation spread on social media. In it, he could be heard commenting on Sheikh Hasina's return to the country, the capability of the police and the political position of senior police officers. In the same audio, he also alleged money transactions and irregularities in postings to various positions in the police. Police had primarily identified the voice in the audio as Rakibul Hasan's.

After the audio spread, Rakibul Hasan was withdrawn from the post of OC of Cantonment Police Station on September 17. He was attached to the Central Storage Depot of the DMP Headquarters and Administration Division, citing "administrative reasons". At the same time, Dhaka Metropolitan Police formed a three-member committee to investigate his remarks.

After that, no clear information was available for several days about where Rakibul Hasan was. A source among police officers had earlier said he was taken to the Detective Police office. However, the next day, the DB denied taking him there.

Police said the three-member investigation committee formed after Rakibul Hasan's withdrawal submitted its report to the DMP Commissioner on Wednesday, September 23. The next day, a decision was taken to file a sedition case against him.

According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the case was filed against him on charges of spreading anti-state and provocative statements on social media. It has applied to take him in seven-day police custody for questioning to properly investigate the case and look into the root cause and related aspects behind the incident.

The audio of Rakibul Hasan that spread also contained allegations of money transactions regarding postings to various positions in the police. He also spoke about the political positions of senior police officers. He was removed from the charge of Cantonment Police Station right after these remarks became public.