The former Speaker of the 12th National Parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has resigned from her post from an unknown location. Then came the passport controversy, and then she suddenly arrested, sent to prison and later released on bail.
She’s almost going out of the scenes again. The mobile phone she had been using for a long time is also switched off. She is hiding from the public eyes. She is avoiding relatives and friends and also refraining from social events. The government residence in the parliament was looted during the July Mass Uprising. Then it is known that she has taken refuge in the cantonment. Then she was arrested from a house in Dhanmondi.
She is not at that address at present. Her whereabouts are not known even to her family relatives. In this situation, it is known that arrangements are being made from her to move abroad for the time being. She will move abroad once some legal obstacles and passport complications are resolved. However, there are rumors about the former speaker that everything is based on an agreement made behind the scenes. It is even said that there is a green signal from a top government official. Those concerned believe that such rumors have spread because she was released on bail quickly after her arrest. It is also heard that she can leave the country on a kind of bond. The main point of the bond is not to get involved in the country's politics for the time being.
News that she may be a leader of the banned Awami League has also been seen on various social media. Her positive image is being promoted as an argument. Several sources have confirmed to Bangladesh Pratidin that Shirin Sharmin Choudhury is under the surveillance of intelligence agencies even though she is hidden from public appearance. Close relatives who are in contact with her claim that she will soon migrate abroad. Initially, Canada and London were heard, but eventually any European country could be her destination.
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury ran into passport complications while in hiding. She applied for a general e-passport at the passport office in Agargaon, Dhaka, along with her husband Syed Ishtiaq Hossain, on October 3, 2024. After applying, they were supposed to submit their fingerprints and Irish on October 10. It is alleged that they gave their fingerprints and irises at home. Officials of the Passport Department were involved in this.
On April 6, at around 4:30 pm, the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) arrested former Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury from Dhanmondi in the capital. When the police applied for a two-day remand, the court rejected it and ordered her to be sent to prison. Three-time Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury was arrested more than a year and a half after the Awami League government fell in the mass uprising of 24. Police said that her name is in several murder cases in Dhaka and Rangpur in July. She was released from Kashimpur Women's Central Jail in Gazipur at around 6:30 pm on April 12.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly Hafiz Uddin Ahmed called the bail of former Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury a good decision. He said this in response to questions from journalists after a discussion with local dignitaries at Bhola Circuit House on April 18.
The Speaker said, the judiciary is independent and they have certainly granted this bail after analyzing everything and considering the legal aspects. My personal opinion is that this has been a good thing. In a democratic state, it is the responsibility of all of us to respect every decision of the court and I think this legal process has been completed properly.
(Translated by Lutful Hoque)
