The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested Major (retd) Khandaker Abdul Hafiz over his alleged involvement in the 2009 BDR massacre as well as activities against state security.

He was arrested from the capital's Banani area on Saturday night, DMP DB Chief Shafiqul Islam confirmed.

“Hafiz was arrested over allegations of involvement in activities against state security and the BDR massacre. He is now in DB custody. Preparations are underway to produce him before the court,” he told the Daily Waadaa on Sunday.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Aktar Hossain also confirmed the arrest, saying Hafiz was picked up from Banani and was being questioned. He added that Hafiz was accused of engaging in anti-state activities.

Before the ninth parliamentary election, on September 6, 2008, Hafiz and several former military officers formally joined the Awami League by presenting flowers to the party's then acting president, Zillur Rahman.

Hafiz, a member of the banned Awami League's Labour and Manpower Affairs Subcommittee, sought the party's nomination for the Tangail-7 (Mirzapur) constituency in the 2018 and 2024 parliamentary elections.

A member of the Tangail district Awami League, he also sought the party's nomination in the 2014 Mirzapur Upazila Parishad election. He currently serves as the general secretary of the Bangabandhu Sena Parishad.

Shafiqul, who is also an additional commissioner of the DMP, said Hafiz, Lt Col (retd) Debashish Kumar Barua and Lieutenant (retd) Kazi Gulshan Ara were involved in anti-state activities, reports UNB.

Debashish and Gulshan Ara are currently in jail in connection with a case filed with Pallabi Police Station under several sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Cyber Security Ordinance.

The DB arrested the two retired Army officers from Dhaka on the night of October 11.

At the time, the DB said it had information about their alleged links to activities of the banned Awami League as part of a conspiracy to create instability in the country.

The DB also said the two officers had been arrested based on specific information about their alleged involvement in spreading anti-state propaganda on social media and attempting to undermine public security through cybercrimes.

The BDR massacre took place on February 25-26, 2009 at the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka. During the two-day mutiny, 74 people, including 57 army officers, were killed.