Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said that authorities will look into whether any specific allegations exist against Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, the former information adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former chairman of DBC News, following reports of his detention.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (4 November) afternoon at the Secretariat, after an inter-ministerial meeting that reviewed the draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026, the minister stated: “If Iqbal Sobhan has been detained, we will examine what allegations there are against him.” He added that he was not certain whether Chowdhury had been detained, but that any formal charges would be checked.
Earlier that day, around 3:30 p.m., Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) officers took Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury from the DBC News office in Mohakhali to the DB headquarters on Minto Road. DB Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam confirmed the development, saying an unwanted situation had arisen after Chowdhury arrived at the office.
Police brought him (and two others) to the DB office to prevent further escalation and were questioning them. DBC News crime chief Rajib Ghosh was also taken into DB custody in the same incident.
Earlier reports from Wednesday afternoon indicated that Chowdhury had not been formally shown as arrested. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Media) Md Akhter Hossain said he was taken for questioning over an arising situation linked to the broadcast of a news report, rather than under a specific case at that stage. Some accounts described a tense or “mob-like” atmosphere at the DBC office, reportedly involving a dispute among board members.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury is a veteran journalist who previously contested the 2008 election as an Awami League candidate from Feni-2 and later served as Hasina’s information adviser. He was previously turned back from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in April while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
The Home Minister’s remarks came in response to questions about the afternoon developments at the DBC office.