Salahuddin Ahmed (born 30 June 1962) is a

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

politician who served as the state minister of communication and a member of parliament from

Cox's Bazar-1 Cox's Bazar-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is ''Vacant''. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Chakaria and Pekua upazilas. History The con ...

constituency during 1996–2006. He was the spokesperson of the party. In 2015, he allegedly enforced disappeared in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and reappeared two months later in

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

, India under Indian police custody. In 2018, he was acquitted by the Indian court. Later on 28 February 2023, he was also acquitted by the appellate court.

Career

Ahmed served as the assistant private secretary to the then Prime Minister

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

when BNP came to power in 1991. He was later appointed as the state minister of communication during 2001–2006 in the

Second Khaleda Cabinet The Second Khaleda ministry was a ministry that had power over the Government of Bangladesh during the 8th legislative session of the Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the uni ...

. In January 2008, Ahmed was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment for taking Tk 1 crore in bribe from Mir Zahir Hossain, owner of construction firm Mir Akter Hossain Ltd. According to the charge, the bribe was taken in February 2005. Ahmed served as the Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. In January 2015, he was appointed spokesperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party by

after Rizvi Ahmed, the previous spokesperson, was arrested by

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

Imprisonment

In March 2015, Ahmed disappeared in

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places *Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana ...

. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party claimed he had been arrested by law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh and according to witness by

Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion (; abbreviated as RAB) is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Police, Border Guard ...

. He reappeared two months later in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

, India. He was arrested by the Indian Police and charged under the Foreigners Act for entering India illegally. On 3 June 2015, he was charged by Shillong Police and was interned in

North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) is a medical institute of India in Shillong, Meghalaya. It is located on the outskirts of the educational hub hills City of the Northeastern India, Shill ...

where he was receiving treatment. More than 3 years later, in October 2018, East Khashi Hill District and Sessions Judge's Court in

, India acquitted him over the trespassing case. While in the Indian jail, Bangladesh Nationalist Party appointed him as a member of its standing committee. Salahuddin Ahmed was acquitted and granted permission to return home by the appellate court in Shillong on 28 February 2023.

Controversy

On 28 August 2024, Salahuddin arrived in Cox's Bazar using a vehicle owned by the S Alam Group, a company under scrutiny for corruption. Videos shared on social media by BNP activists showed Salahuddin riding in a Mitsubishi station wagon registered under S Alam Power Plant, a subsidiary of the group, since 2010. The S Alam Group, led by Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam, has been embroiled in controversy, with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was launching an investigation into allegations that Saiful Alam and his associates laundered approximately BDT 1.13 trillion abroad.

Personal life

Ahmed is married to Hasina Ahmed, with two sons and two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Salahuddin Living people 1962 births Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Ministers of communications of Bangladesh Place of birth missing (living people) 8th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members Politicians from Cox's Bazar District