GD filed against Zafrullah for comments on army chief

A general diary was filed against pro-BNP professional group leader Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury over ‘false, targeted and treasonous’ remarks he made regarding the current army chief in a television programme.

Major M Raqibul Alam, who is currently assigned to the army headquarters, filed the GD against the Gonoshasthaya Kendra trustee board member Zafrullah on Friday, reports bdnews24.com.

Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Md Masudur Rahman said Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch Police (South) will investigate the matter after getting approvals from the court and the ministry.

“The night before the verdict in the important case over the August 21 grenade attack, he made a sudden and irrelevant remark on the chief of the military in a targeted plot motivated by hate in an attempt to stir unrest among the armed forces, which is equivalent to sedition,” the army officer said in the GD.

“Why and at whose bidding a highly educated person like Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury made such targeted, fabricated and false statements on a talk show is a matter that deserves to be investigated,” according to the GD.

On the night of August 20, Zafrullah Chowdhury made some derogatory remarks against army chief General Aziz Ahmed at a programme on Somoy TV.

The army headquarters sent a response on the issue, which Somoy TV broadcast along with a statement.

Later, Chowdhury apologised for spreading incorrect information at a press conference on Saturday.

According to bdnews24.com, the ISPR sent another statement to the media protesting Zafrullah’s remarks at the press conference.

Zafrullah was attempting to ‘insinuate’ that the grenades used in the August 21 attack had been sourced from the army, the ISPR said.

“Spreading such false information on a talk show the night before the verdict in the Aug 21 grenade attack is a targeted act. He did not attempt to correct that statement at the press conference."

“It is clear from his remarks that he was attempting to create unrest among all those assigned to the armed forces and is attempting to damage the reputation of the army chief on the national and international stage, attempting to belittle the Bangladeshi army, a symbol of our independence and sovereignty.”