Shahriar Kabir arrested in Dhaka, charges not specified

Police are yet to confirm the charges for which he has been detained

Writer and journalist Shahriar Kabir, a prominent figure associated with the Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee, has been arrested - the latest in a series of actions following the fall of the Awami League government.

Police detained him on Monday night from his residence in Dhaka’s Banani, according to Tejgaon Police Station chief Mohammad Mobarak Hossain.

However, Mobarak could not confirm the charges for which Kabir, who served as the president of the committee which was formed to push for punishment for the crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War, was arrested.

Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee was established in January 1992 by a group of 101 individuals led by Jahanara Imam to advocate for the trial of those who committed crimes against humanity during the War of Independence from Pakistan. The committee began symbolic trials of the war criminals, starting with Ghulam Azam, at the Suhrawardy Udyan on Mar 26, 1992.

Kabir played a key role in forming the committee and became its president following the death of Jahanara Imam in 1994.

Born in 1950 in Feni, Kabir completed his education at Dhaka University. He began his journalism career in 1972 with the weekly Bichitra and served as its executive editor until 1992.

He was also the general secretary of the Bangladesh Lekhak Shibir, a literary and cultural organisation, from 1976 to 1980.

The current wave of arrests follows the departure of Sheikh Hasina to India on Aug 5 amid a mass movement.

An interim government was formed three days later, leading to the arrest of several top leaders and influential MPs from the ousted government, including former law minister Anisul Haq, social welfare minister Dipu Moni, former ICT state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and prime minister’s advisors Salman F Rahman and Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury.