Rezaul Karim Mallick removed from post as Detective Branch chief

Additional Commissioner Rezaul Karim Mallick has been removed from his post as the chief of the Dhaka Metropolitan (DMP) Detective Branch (DB).

A notice signed by DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md Sazzat Ali was issued on Sunday removing Mallick as DB chief and attaching him to DMP Headquarters.

Mallick was not present at the briefing on Sunday, which was held to share the security arrangements for the Pohela Boishakh celebrations at Ramna. An officer of 17th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (police) cadre, Mallick took over as the DB chief on Sept 1, 2024.

It is assumed that Mallick has been removed following the arrest of Meghna Alam, a model and actress. Questions were also raised regarding whether there was DB negligence in the arson incident that burnt two Pohela Boishakh procession motifs at the Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Arts.

When asked if the police officer in duty would be punished for the incident, DMP Commissioner Sazzat said the decision would be shared with the media at a later time.

MEGHNA ALAM ARREST

Meghna was detained from a house in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area on Apr 9.

Shortly before her arrest, she went live on Facebook, claiming that “people identifying themselves as police” were attempting to break into her home. The livestream, which lasted over 12 minutes, was cut off shortly after she was detained and was later deleted from her account, though clips had already spread on social media by then.

Later, the former Miss Earth Bangladesh was presented before a Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefat Ullah ordered that she be held in custody for 30 days under the Special Powers Act, following a petition by the DB.