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Published : 07 Apr 2026, 08:41 AM
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) has arrested Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the former speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad.
Detectives picked up the Rangpur-6 representative from her residence on Road 8/A in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, around 4:30am on Tuesday.
DB Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam confirmed the move, noting she was taken into custody in connection with a case filed over the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
Shirin made history on Apr 30, 2013, when she became the first woman to preside over the legislature.
Stepping into the role during her debut term as a member of parliament, she leveraged four years of previous experience to secure the position of presiding officer.
Her tenure followed that of Abdul Hamid, who vacated the chair after his election to the presidency.
The former speaker held firm control of the parliament for over a decade, securing re-election after the Jan 7 national polls.
Her long run at the helm of the parliament ended on Sept 2, 2024, when she stepped down 27 days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Aug 5.
Following the July Uprising that toppled the Awami League administration, most of the party’s top leaders went into hiding, with several former ministers and MPs facing arrest.
Shirin did not appear publicly during this period and was absent from the interim government’s oath-taking ceremony on Aug 8, 2024.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the parliament the day after Hasina fled the country.
Although constitutional rules dictate that the speaker remains in office until a successor takes the oath, Shirin opted to quit before that transition.
She originally entered the parliament in 2009 through a reserved seat for women and served as the state minister for women and children affairs before her elevation to the speaker’s chair.
