Workers Party of Bangladesh leader Rashed Khan Menon arrested

Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued a brief statement to reporters on Thursday evening that said Menon was arrested on a murder charge filed at New Market police station

Dhaka: Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh that was part of the previous government led by the Awami League, was arrested on a murder charge from Gulshan area of Dhaka on Thursday.

Anti-riot police deployed during the first day of the non-cooperation movement at Dhaka University campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 4. (PTI)

Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued a brief statement to reporters on Thursday evening that said Menon was arrested on a murder charge filed at New Market police station.

The Workers Party of Bangladesh was one of the partners in the 14-party alliance led by former premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. During the Awami League’s rule, he served as the minister of civil aviation and tourism and later as the minister of social welfare.

Menon was recently accused in several cases in connection with the killing of protesters in clashes with law enforcement personnel during the student-led protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. Hasina stepped down and fled to India following weeks of protests spearheaded by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

Since Hasina’s ouster, a raft of criminal cases have been filed against her and former ministers with police across the country.