Former army officer Ziaul Ahsan has admitted to being involved in the attack and suppression of Hefazat-e-Islam activists at Shapla Chattar in the capital on May 5, 2013, the purchase of the Pegasus spyware, and his connection with Aina Ghar, according to police claims.
The police made this claim in their application for a 10-day remand of the former army officer in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka. The application mentioned that during the initial interrogation, he confessed to being involved in these incidents.
However, Ziaul Ahsan denied these allegations during the court hearing.
He was brought to court this Friday (August 16) in the afternoon for the hearing regarding the remand application. The police claimed in the remand application that Ziaul admitted to purchasing the Israeli software Pegasus.
When questioned in court about this, Ziaul said, “There is no such thing as Pegasus. I haven’t tracked anyone’s phone.”
The police further claimed that the former Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC) is also linked to Aina Ghar.
However, Ziaul Ahsan told the court, “I am not involved in any murders or disappearances. Ask those who were released from Aina Ghar if I detained them there.”
In response to the police’s claims, he alleged that “on August 7, the DGFI picked him up from his home and held him captive in Aina Ghar for eight days.”
According to the remand application, Ziaul also played an important role in the violent suppression of Hefazat-e-Islam activists at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka on May 5, 2013, which he admitted during the initial interrogation.
Ziaul Ahsan, who had been discharged from his job, was arrested late Thursday night in the Khilkhet area of the capital in connection with a murder case filed at the New Market police station. He was taken to the DB office on Minto Road this morning (August 16).
Notably, Major General Ziaul Ahsan was relieved of his duties on August 6.
He had been serving as the Director General of NTMC since 2022.
Previously, he was the Director of the company. Before that, in 2009, he was appointed Vice-Captain of RAB-2. In the same year, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Director of the Intelligence Branch at RAB Headquarters.
