Salahuddin Ahmed (Cox's Bazar politician) explained

Salahuddin Ahmed
Native Name:সালাহউদ্দিন আহমেদ
Native Name Lang:bn
Office:Minister of State for Communications
Term Start:10 October 2001
Term End:29 October 2006
Primeminister:Khaleda Zia
Predecessor:AKM Amanul Islam Chowdhury
Successor:Sultana Kamal
Office1:Member of Parliament
Constituency1:Cox's Bazar-1
Term Start1:14 July 1996
Term End1:29 October 2006
Predecessor1:Enamul Haq Manju
Successor1:Hasina Ahmed
Party:Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Spouse:Hasina Ahmed
Children:4
Birth Date:30 June 1962
Nationality:Bangladeshi
Birth Place:Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Occupation:Politician

Salahuddin Ahmed (born 30 June 1962)[1] is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician who served as the state minister of communication and a member of parliament from Cox's Bazar-1 constituency during 1996–2006.[2] He was the spokesperson of the party. In 2015, he allegedly enforced disappeared in Dhaka and reappeared two months later in Shillong, India under Indian police custody.[3] In 2018, he was acquitted by the Indian court. Later on 28 February 2023, he was also acquitted by the appellate court.[4]

Career

Ahmed served as the assistant private secretary to the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia when BNP came to power in 1991.[1] He was later appointed as the state minister of communication during 2001–2006 in the Second Khaleda Cabinet.[5]

In January 2008, Ahmed was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment for taking Tk 1 crore in bribe from Mir Zahir Hossain, owner of construction firm Mir Akter Hossain Ltd. According to the charge, the bribe was taken in February 2005.[6]

Ahmed served as the Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. In January 2015, he was appointed spokesperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party by Khaleda Zia after Rizvi Ahmed, the previous spokesperson, was arrested by Bangladesh Police.[7]

Imprisonment

In March 2015, Ahmed disappeared in Uttara, Dhaka. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party claimed he had been arrested by law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh and according to witness by Rapid Action Battalion. He reappeared two months later in Shillong, Meghalaya, India. He was arrested by the Indian Police and charged under the Foreigners Act for entering India illegally.[7] [8] On 3 June 2015, he was charged by Shillong Police and was interned in North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences where he was receiving treatment.[9] More than 3 years later, in October 2018, East Khashi Hill District and Sessions Judge's Court in Meghalaya, India acquitted him over the trespassing case.[1] [10] [11] While in the Indian jail, Bangladesh Nationalist Party appointed him as a member of its standing committee.[1] Salahuddin Ahmed was acquitted and granted permission to return home by the appellate court in Shillong on 28 February 2023.[12]

Personal life

Ahmed is married to Hasina Ahmed,[5] with two sons and two daughters.

Notes and References

  1. News: Trespassing Charges: Salahuddin cleared. 2018-10-27. The Daily Star. 2018-10-26. en.
  2. News: Missing Bangladesh opposition spokesman surfaces in India. 19 February 2018. The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 13 May 2015. en.
  3. News: Bangladesh Is Vanishing The Opposition. 19 February 2018. Foreign Policy. en.
  4. News: BNP leader Salahuddin acquitted, gets permission to return home. 28 May 2023. Star Digital Report. 1 March 2023.
  5. News: PM lobbied over Dhaka disappearance. 19 February 2018. BBC News. 19 March 2015.
  6. Web site: 2008-01-11. Ex-state minister Salahuddin jailed for 7 years. 2021-06-13. The Daily Star. en.
  7. News: Rashid. Muktadir. Bergman. David. Anatomy of a Disappearance, and a Reappearance - The Wire. 19 February 2018. thewire.in. The Wire.
  8. News: BNP leader Salahuddin says he was kidnapped from Uttara. 19 February 2018. bdnews24.com.
  9. News: Charge framed against Salahuddin. 19 February 2018. The Daily Star. 22 July 2015. en.
  10. Web site: Shillong court acquits BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed of trespass charges. 2021-06-13. bdnews24.com.
  11. Web site: I am eager to go back to Bangladesh, says BNP leader Salahuddin. 29 September 2018 . 2021-06-13. en-US.
  12. News: BNP leader Salahuddin acquitted, gets permission to return home. 28 May 2023. Star Digital Report. 1 March 2023.