Mian Arefy's accomplice General Hasan Sarwardi arrested

Police have arrested Lieutenant General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi (retd) today in a case accusing him of committing treason by resorting to lies in a bid to destabilise the country.

The case was filed with the Paltan police station on 29 October, accused Sarwardi alongside Mian Zahidul Islam Arefy, who introduced himself as an adviser to US President Joe Biden, and BNP leader Ishraque Hossain.

Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, Chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch Additional Commissioner Harun-Or-Rashid said he led the arrest operation.

Lt Gen (retd) Sarwardi was picked up from his residence this afternoon and is now being taken to the DB office in the capital's Minto Road, said the DB chief.

According to the case documents, Sarwardi is being charged under sections 109 and 419 of the penal code.

Section 109  deals with abetment "when it is committed in consequence of the instigation, or in pursuance of the conspiracy, or with the aid which constitutes the abetment."

There are no express provisions for the punishment of such abetment, but it depends on what the consequence of the action is.

Section 419 says, "Whoever cheats by personation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both."

Earlier on 30 October, a Dhaka court sent Mian Zahidul Islam Arefy, a self-proclaimed adviser of US President Joe Biden, to jail in the case.

Self-proclaimed Biden's advisor Arefy lands in jail

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ali Haider passed the order as police produced Arefy before the court and pleaded to keep him behind bars till the probe ends.

"Arefy, appearing in a BNP conference on Saturday, claimed that he recommended US government to impose bans on the police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Department of Law and Justice of Bangladesh. He claimed to be in contact with the US President 10-15 times a day and that everyone in the US government is in favor of a caretaker government," read the case statement on 29 October.

Arefy also claimed that he had communicated with the US Embassy and informed the US State Department about the situation in Bangladesh, as stated in the case document.

The plaintiff contended that during the speech, Ishraque Hossain and Hasan Sarwardy collaborated with Arefy in making false statements, supporting his statements, and inciting BNP leaders and activists to disrupt the law and order situation in the country.

"With the assistance of the other accused, Arefy sowed discord among leaders and activists throughout the country, fostering animosity towards the government. Following Arefy's speech and the circulation of the video, the country's law and order deteriorated significantly," read the case statement.

The plaintiff, a man named Mahiuddin Sikder from Gopalganj, maintained that by resorting to falsehoods, the accused, in collaboration with other BNP leaders and activists, committed the crime of treason, thereby destabilising the country while attempting to boost the morale of BNP supporters.

According to a 2020 ISPR,  the army on April 10 that year declared Lieutenant General (retired) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi, Bir Bikram, persona non grata in the cantonment and areas covered by it after the authorities noticed he had spread lies about the army on various social media platforms.

Access to all facilities including the CMH medical services, officers' club, CSD shop etc are prohibited by the army authorities for persona non grata, read a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate.

"It is to be noted that he got involved in immoral relations with more than one woman while he was the commandant of NDC after he was promoted to the rank of Lt General. He also mixes with many women while travelling abroad with various courses conducted at the NDC," the press release added.

Being embarrassed when pictures of his indecent behaviour and mixing came to the notice of the authorities through various media, the authorities have advised him in various ways, it added.

While he was in LPR, he divorced his first wife on August 16, 2018 and married his second wife on November 21, 2018 illegally wearing a mess kit (military dress) – both times without the permission of the authorities.

He was living in the same house with a female media personality since November 3, 2018, before marriage. Even before the marriage, he celebrated Pahela Baishakh with her and travelled to Sajek Resort in Khagrachari, India, Thailand, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland at various times, which was widely criticised in the military and civilian spheres and social media.

Moreover, the woman he married is also a "controversial person", the ISPR said.

"Such behaviour of Lt Gen Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi (Retd) is uncomfortable and embarrassing for the members of the Armed Forces. Such incidents serve as a negative example among officers and other ranks in the army and have adverse effects," the ISPR said in the press release.