Former Foreign Ministry DG Sabbir Detained at Border, Sent to Jail
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A court has sent a former Director General (DG) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to jail after he was detained while returning to the country through the Dahagram border in Lalmonirhat.
He was presented before the Lalmonirhat Senior Judicial Magistrate Cognizance Court-1 today, Sunday, at around 2:30 PM. Rejecting his bail application, Judge Md. Alauddin ordered him to be sent to the Lalmonirhat District Jail.
Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sad Ahmed confirmed the matter.
Yesterday, Saturday afternoon, the former diplomat of the ousted Awami League government entered illegally in the country from India through the Dahagram border in Patgram upazila. Local residents became suspicious upon seeing him and informed the police. Officers subsequently arrived at the scene, detained him, and seized seven passports, including two diplomatic ones. He was then handed over to the District Detective Branch (DB) police for questioning.
Later that night, the DB police transferred him to the Sadar Police Station.
Sadar Police Station OC Sad Ahmed said on August 5, 2024, the residence of the District Awami League Joint General Secretary, Sakhawat Hossain Suman Khan, was set on fire, resulting in the deaths of six people from burn injuries. Sabbir Bin Shams has been shown arrested in connection with the case filed over this incident.
During the tenure of the previous Awami League government, Sabbir Bin Shams served as a contractual DG at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had also served as a Minister at the London High Commission. Additionally, he is a former Executive Director of the Center for Research and Information (CRI), the research wing of the now-banned Awami League.
Following the fall of the government in '24, he went to India and had been staying there for a long period, according to police station sources.
