Former officer-in-charge of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Cantonment Police Station, Md Rakibul Hasan, has been arrested in connection with an audio recording that recently went viral on social media.
Rakibul Hasan was arrested from Rajarbagh Police Lines on Thursday (24 September) in a case filed under allegations of sedition. He is expected to be produced before a court shortly, according to information available after his arrest.
The arrest follows an administrative decision taken last week after the audio recording began circulating widely online. On 17 September, an office order signed by the DMP commissioner removed Rakibul Hasan from his post as officer-in-charge of Cantonment Police Station and attached him to the Central Reserve Office under the Headquarters and Administration Division.
The administrative action came after an audio recording purportedly involving the former police officer spread across social media platforms. In the recording, a conversation could reportedly be heard concerning the possible return to Bangladesh of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted following the mass student-public uprising and is currently in India.
The circulation of the recording prompted considerable discussion on social media and raised questions about its authenticity and origin. Rakibul Hasan, however, rejected the authenticity of the recording in a post on his Facebook account. He claimed that the audio had been generated using artificial intelligence technology and was not a genuine recording of his conversation.
The contrasting claims surrounding the recording have now become part of a legal process, with the former officer being arrested in the sedition case. His removal from the Cantonment Police Station had already marked the first formal administrative action taken against him following the circulation of the audio.
The case is likely to bring renewed attention to the authenticity of digitally circulated audio recordings, particularly where allegations are made against public officials or where politically sensitive matters are involved. Establishing whether a recording is genuine, altered or generated using artificial intelligence generally requires examination of the digital material and other relevant evidence.
Rakibul Hasan’s arrest does not, by itself, establish the authenticity of the viral recording or the allegations associated with it. Those matters will be subject to the legal process and any investigation undertaken in connection with the case.
He is now expected to appear before the court, where the next stage of the proceedings will become clearer. The court’s decision and subsequent investigation are expected to determine how the case proceeds and whether further action is taken in relation to the audio recording.
