Salman F Rahman, Anisul Huq taken into custody

Salman F Rahman, former adviser to the recently ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and former law minister Anisul Huq have been taken into custody, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) official said.

Earlier in the evening, they were arrested from the Sadarghat area of the capital during an alleged escape attempt, according to police.

They were arrested in a case filed with the New Market Police Station, DMP Commissioner Mainul Hasan confirmed to The Business Standard today (13 August).

Police arrested them on a tip-off while the arrestees were trying to flee the capital on waterways, said the commissioner.

Both have been taken to DMP headquarters, he added.

According to police sources, two people were killed in a clash in front of Dhaka College on 16 July during the student protest demanding quota reform. Two murder cases were filed with Newmarket Police Station over the incidents. 

One of the deceased, Shobuj Ali, was a student of Dhaka College. After his death, Chhatra League claimed that he was one of their workers.

Salman and Anisul were arrested as the instigators of the killings, sources said.

Salman F Rahman is the co-founder and vice chairman of Beximco Group, one of the largest business and industrial conglomerates in the country. He is also the chairman of IFIC Bank, a leading private commercial bank in Bangladesh. 

Before serving as private industry and investment adviser to Sheikh Hasina he served as her adviser for private sector development affairs. He was elected member of parliament from the Dhaka-1 constituency (Dohar and Nawabganj) as a candidate of the Awami League.

Anisul Huq was the minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs from 2014 to 2024. He was elected member of parliament from the Brahmanbaria-4 constituency (Kasba-Akhaura) as a candidate of the AL.

Before coming into politics, he was a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.