Former Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Shamsuddoha Khandkar was arrested on Sunday in Nawabganj, Dhaka, in connection with cheque fraud cases.
Police detained him around 11:00 am from his residence at Panalia Wandlera Green Park after maintaining a 12-hour presence outside his house.
Dhaka District Police Superintendent Mohammad Anisuzzaman confirmed the arrest, saying Shamsuddoha had two outstanding arrest warrants for cheque fraud. He was later produced before the court.
According to Nawabganj police sources, Shamsuddoha had been at his home on Saturday night when he allegedly consumed alcohol and threatened his domestic staff. A female housemaid dialed the national emergency number 999, prompting police to rush to the scene. Officers found the former senior police official in an intoxicated state, behaving aggressively toward his staff even in the presence of police.
Police sources said Shamsuddoha had confined several of his domestic workers, including four women, without pay and threatened them with his licensed firearm. When officers arrived, he locked himself inside his bedroom, forcing police to camp outside throughout the night. After hours of negotiation, he emerged around 10:30 am Sunday and surrendered. His licensed pistol was seized.
Witnesses reported seeing three police vehicles outside the gated compound early Sunday morning. Officers, including the Nawabganj police chief, waited inside the compound while maintaining tight security around the premises.
After his arrest, Shamsuddoha was briefly taken to Keraniganj Model Police Station before being sent to court.
Shamsuddoha joined the police force as an ASP in 1986 and rose to the rank of Additional IGP in 2011. That same year, he was appointed chairman of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) on deputation. However, allegations of irregularities and misuse of power led to his removal in 2015. He retired from the police in March 2016.
Both Shamsuddoha and his wife have faced corruption allegations. In 2018, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched an inquiry, revealing that his wife’s accounts held illicit income worth around Tk 41 crore, while Shamsuddoha himself was accused of amassing Tk 21 crore illegally and concealing assets worth Tk 2.87 crore. That case remains under trial.
Nawabganj police said aside from the two cheque fraud cases, Shamsuddoha faces five other cases in which he is currently out on bail.
