Two three-star generals have been added to the list of army officials who have lost their posts after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the face of a student-led mass movement.
Army Training and Doctrine Command GOC Lt Gen Mujibur Rahman has been dismissed. He was once the director general of the Special Security Force, which provided security to Hasina.
On 31 July 2018, Mujibur Rahman was promoted to Major General. He took over the command of SSF on 6 August 2018. Since then, he has resided at the Ganabhaban along with the Prime Minister and has been accompanying her on her events and foreign visits.
Former National Defence College commandant Lt Gen Mohammad Saiful Alam, a former director general of the DGFI, has been forced into early retirement.
Major General Ziaul Ahsan, the director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), has been sacked. Maj Gen ASM Ridwanur Rahman has replaced him.
Lt Gen Mizanur Rahman Shamim has been appointed Chief of Army General Staff. Lt Gen Mujibur Rahman has been made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. Lt Gen Ahmed Tabrez Shams Chowdhury has been made Quarter Master General.
The Inter Service Public Relations confirmed that the Ministry of Defence had issued two separate orders regarding the removal of top-ranking army Generals.
Before his assignment to the ATDC at the Momenshahi Cantonment, Mujibur had served as quartermaster at Army Headquarters. He came to the spotlight after leading Operation Thunderblast during the Holey Artisan attack and later served as additional director general with Border Guard Bangladesh and the Rapid Action Battalion.
He was then made director general of the SSF and tasked with the security of former prime minister Hasina. He accompanied her on many trips.
After the government changeover, Saiful was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had previously served as the Army’s quartermaster general and GOC of the 11th Infantry Division.
Critics have alleged that Bangladesh army Generals have amassed significant wealth and property, both domestically and internationally, which they claim is disproportionate to their known sources of income.
There have been claims that they have been involved in dubious property transactions or have acquired high-value assets through questionable means.
On September 4, the central bank’s Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit audited these army officers’ bank accounts. They also froze the bank accounts of his wife and children and the businesses they owned.
On 12 September 2024, two more army officers, namely Lieutenant General Ahmed Tabrez Shams Chowdhury and Major General Hamidul Haque, were sent to forced retirement.
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