Additional Commissioner Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, the chief of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), has been reassigned to the position of additional commissioner (Crime and Operation) at Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The transfer follows Harun’s handling of key student leaders involved in the job quota reform movement.
Additional Commissioner Moha Ashrafuzzaman, additional police commissioner (logistics, finance and procurement), will assume the role of the new DB chief, according to a circular issued by DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman on Wednesday.
“The officers have been transferred in the public interest until further orders,” reads the notification.
During Harun’s tenure, the DB detained six prominent leaders of the movement, including Nahid Islam, Sharzis Alam, and Hasnat Abdullah, purportedly for their “own safety.”
Under Harun’s supervision, the DB allegedly coerced these six leaders into issuing a video statement in which they retracted their demands for reforming the quota system in government jobs and for ensuring justice for those killed and injured during the protests.
Additionally, DB officers posted a photo on Facebook showing the student leaders having lunch on DB premises, which attracted widespread criticism from netizens.
The High Court also reprimanded DB officers for posting the image. These incidents were reportedly discussed at a meeting of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance held on July 29 at Ganabhaban in the capital.
