Former chief election commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police from Dhaka’s Moghbazar area on Wednesday afternoon in connection with a high-profile case filed by the BNP over alleged election manipulation.
DB Joint Commissioner Nasirul Islam confirmed the arrest, saying Awal was taken into custody in the afternoon.
The move comes just three days after the BNP filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station, accusing 24 individuals—including three former CECs—of engineering the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections.
The accused list includes former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and several top-ranking former law enforcement and intelligence officials.
Among them are former inspectors general of police (IGPs) Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, Javed Patwary, Shahidul Haque, and Benazir Ahmed, along with ex-special branch chief Monirul Islam.
The case also names former heads of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).
Earlier, former CEC KM Nurul Huda was arrested from Uttara and placed on a four-day remand in the same case. According to DB sources, Awal has now been formally shown arrested in connection with the same charges.
Kazi Habibul Awal served as CEC during the 12th national election in January 2024, which was marred by boycotts and widespread allegations of irregularities.
His fellow commissioners were Md Alamgir, Anisur Rahman, Begum Rashida Sultana, and Brig Gen (Retd) Ahsan Habib Khan.
Nurul Huda, who served as CEC from February 2017 to February 2022, oversaw the 11th national election in 2018 under similarly controversial circumstances.