Brig Gen Miftah taken into military custody

Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed, former commanding officer of RAB-7, has been taken into military custody in connection with the killing of former Teknaf municipality councillor Ekramul Haque.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the development on Monday (July 27) night.

In a statement, the ISPR said Brig Gen Miftah had been placed in military custody and that further legal proceedings would be carried out in accordance with the law.

The ISPR also noted that the prosecution on Sunday submitted formal charges before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of Ekramul Haque.

The charge sheet names 11 accused, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Brig Gen Miftah Uddin Ahmed, who was serving as the commanding officer of RAB-7 (Chattogram) at the time of the incident. Cox’s Bazar was then under the jurisdiction of RAB-7.

The military took Brig Gen Miftah into custody a day after the formal charges were filed with the tribunal.

Ekramul Haque, a former Teknaf municipality councillor and a former upazila Jubo League president for 12 years, was killed in what authorities described as a “gunfight” in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on the night of May 26, 2018.