2 WhatsApp groups: What’s behind Debashish, Gulshan Ara’s arrests?

Following the arrest of two retired military officers, police have alleged that they used two WhatsApp groups to raise funds and circulate provocative content. They have also been accused of using platforms for retired military officers to maintain contact with Awami League leaders.

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Bijoy Debashish Narayan Paul, 47, and Lieutenant (retired) Kazi Gulshan Ara, 43, were arrested on allegations of conspiring to destabilise the country through these activities. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) arrested them during raids in the capital’s Pallabi and Banani DOHS areas late on Sunday night.

Officers involved in the operation, and a review of the first information report (FIR) and the police remand application submitted to the court, point to several allegations behind the arrests. These primarily concern anti-government propaganda, financing, political contacts and organised activities.

On Monday afternoon, police produced the two officers before a court and sought seven days’ remand. The remand application repeated similar allegations against them. After hearing both sides, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Didarul Alam granted four days’ remand.

Officials familiar with the investigation said the two retired officers had been under intelligence surveillance for a long time. They alleged that the officers had been active on behalf of the Awami League (whose activities have been banned in the country).

Investigators also claimed to have found links between them and “spies” at home and abroad. These allegations were among the reasons for deciding to arrest them.

The case was filed with Pallabi police station in Dhaka, naming another 101 people as unidentified accused.

DB sources said the two arrested officers and their associates were connected to two WhatsApp groups named ‘Bangladesh Awami League Supporters Alpha Number # 1’ and ‘BBM Transparency’.

Police allege that Debashish and Gulshan Ara used the groups to raise funds for anti-government activities. They are also accused of producing digital content intended to incite violence and circulating it on various social media platforms.

Two other platforms formed by retired military officers, ‘Unity Care’ and ‘Public Parliament’, have also been mentioned in the allegations.

Investigators claim these platforms were used to maintain contact with former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed, a former home minister and fugitive senior leaders of Awami League (whose activities have been banned in the country).

The alleged objective was to rehabilitate the Awami League politically and organise activities against the state.

Sources familiar with the investigation said social media activity was another important factor behind the arrests. The police remand application alleges that content intended to incite violence and instability was produced and circulated through a Facebook page named ‘KalAjkal.com’.

The application also cites a Facebook account said to belong to Kazi Gulshan Ara, accusing her of using it to disseminate propaganda against the state.

Police allege that, since 5 August 2024, the two arrested officers and their associates had engaged in conspiratorial and defamatory campaigns against the government and Bangladesh. They have also been accused of maintaining contact with individuals at home and abroad.

The remand application refers to an incident in 2018 concerning the political contacts of the two retired officers.

It alleges that, on 27 November 2018, ahead of the national election, Kazi Gulshan Ara visited Gonobhaban with more than 150 retired military officers to express solidarity with and allegiance to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The visit by retired military officers to Gonobhaban to declare their support for Hasina was reported in the media at the time.

Police further allege that a committee named ‘Bangabandhu Sena Parishad’ was subsequently formed with 101 associates. The two arrested officers have been accused of being involved in the organisation’s activities.

The remand application accuses the organisation of attempting to spread hatred among people from different professions and social groups, provoking riots and creating disorder.

It also alleges that its members expressed hatred and contempt towards the government through social media and appearances on various talk shows.

Besides Debashish and Gulshan Ara, 101 unidentified people have been named as accused in the case filed with Pallabi police station. The case was lodged by Mohammad Ali Akbar, a police inspector with the DB’s Pallabi zonal team.

The case cited various provisions of the Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Cyber Security Ordinance.

In the remand application submitted to the court, the investigating officer identified five areas in which further information was needed: establishing the identities and whereabouts of the other accused; identifying domestic and foreign “spies” involved in activities against the state; collecting digital evidence; identifying other websites and pages used on social media; and uncovering the underlying facts of the case.

The application also refers to investigating the sources of alleged illegal funding. Police say the two accused need to be questioned to obtain detailed information and establish whether others were involved.

During the remand hearing, lawyers for the two retired military officers challenged the allegations made by police.

Mohammad Mashiur Rahman, counsel for Gulshan Ara, said she had been accused of attempting to destabilise the country through an appearance on a talk show. However, he argued, the application did not specify what she had said that could have destabilised the country or identified any concrete evidence against her.

Abdullah Al Mansur, counsel for Debashish, described the allegations against his client as unacceptable. Although a charge of sedition had been brought, he said, the remand application did not explain the basis for the allegation or specify what offence his client had committed.

State prosecutor Harun Or Rashid, meanwhile, said the accused had maintained regular contact with leaders and activists of the ousted government with the aim of destabilising the country. He also alleged that they had links with domestic and foreign spies.

Further information about the accused and their activities could be obtained through remand, he told the court.