Detectives on Sunday detained senior journalist and former Jatiya Press Club president Shaukat Mahmood from the capital’s Malibagh area in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Deputy Commissioner of DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division Talebur Rahman earlier confirmed that a team of the Detective Branch picked him up in the afternoon. However, he did not specify the case at that time.
Later in the evening, DB Chief and Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam told UNB that Shaukat Mahmood had been arrested in connection with a case lodged with Ramna Police Station. Bangladeshi-origin US citizen Enayet Karim Chowdhury had been arrested earlier in the case.
Sub-Inspector Azizul Hakim of Ramna Police Station filed the case on September 14, a day after Enayet’s arrest from the capital’s Mintoo Road area for suspicious movement in a Land Cruiser Prado SUV.
According to the case statement, Enayet, described as an agent of a foreign intelligence agency, was allegedly involved in a conspiracy to undermine public security and overthrow the interim government.
Shaukat Mahmood, a former BNP vice-chairman expelled from the party on March 21, 2023, recently returned to politics through the Janata Party Bangladesh, formed on April 25 this year. Actor Ilias Kanchan serves as the party’s chairman, while Shaukat was elected its secretary general.