Fugitive Bangladesh ex-cop on the run since Hasina’s fall nabbed by BSF in West Bengal

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday caught a fugitive Bangladeshi former police officer while he was attempting to sneak into India through Hakimpur in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, officials said, reported The Times of India.

Mohammad Arifuzzaman, 47, had been in hiding since the Awami League government of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled by a student-led mass movement in August last year. According to ToI sources, he had crossed into India shortly after the uprising and stayed with relatives in West Bengal’s Tentulia for several months before returning to Bangladesh. He was caught on Saturday while trying to re-enter India.

Arifuzzaman was handed over to police and later remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by a local court. “Several documents found on him have been forwarded to senior administrative officials. Both Indian and Bangladeshi high commissions have been informed. The case is under joint scrutiny,” a senior police officer said on Sunday.


Arifuzzaman had served with the 2nd Battalion of Bangladesh Armed Police in Mymensingh but stopped attending duty on October 14, 2024. The Bangladesh home ministry suspended him earlier this month.

His detention has added to concerns over cross-border movements by suspended or fugitive officials of Bangladesh. Several officials linked to the Hasina government are under growing scrutiny in Dhaka, where many face allegations of war crimes and rights violations during last year’s uprising.

With inputs from ToI