Police have arrested Abul Kashem Pallab, a two-time former chairman of the Biyanibazar Upazila Parishad in Sylhet and joint general secretary of the Biyanibazar unit of the Awami League, from the Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka.
Pallab was arrested by police from Vatara Police Station at around 11pm on Saturday, 29 August, while he was in the capital’s Bashundhara residential area.
An investigation officer at Vatara Police Station said Pallab is facing around 20 cases filed at different police stations, including in Biyanibazar. Police did not immediately provide details of the individual cases or the allegations made in them.
Pallab has been a prominent figure in Biyanibazar’s local politics for many years. He served as joint general secretary of the Biyanibazar Upazila Awami League and previously held the position of president of the Biyanibazar Upazila Awami League Jubo League.
His political career also includes several years in elected local government. In 2009, while he was still a student, Pallab served as vice-chairman of the Biyanibazar Upazila Parishad. He later contested the upazila election in 2018 and was elected chairman for the first time.
He retained the position in the sixth Upazila Parishad election, held in May 2024, securing a second term as chairman. His repeated election to the post made him a well-known political figure in the Biyanibazar area.
Pallab’s political activities extended beyond local government. Ahead of the 12th parliamentary election in 2024, he collected an Awami League nomination form seeking to contest the Sylhet-6 constituency, which comprises Biyanibazar and Golapganj upazilas.
His arrest now places the former local government chairman at the centre of ongoing legal proceedings. Police said the cases registered against him in Biyanibazar and other parts of the country would be dealt with through the relevant legal process.
The arrest also marks a significant development in the legal situation surrounding a politician who has held several important positions in both local government and the Awami League’s organisational structure in Biyanibazar. Further action will depend on the details of the cases, the investigation and subsequent court proceedings.
