RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin arrested in Delhi
Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh's new prime minister following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's landslide victory in the national elections. The swearing-in ceremony, administered by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, took place at the south plaza of the parliament building in Dhaka on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, evening.
Following the new government's assumption of power, the Bangladesh Army has undergone a significant reshuffle, including the appointment of a new Chief of General Staff and changes in key strategic commands.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Bangladesh will hold general elections on February 12, 2026, the first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. A referendum on reform proposals will be held simultaneously.
Sensitive issues remain. Water sharing of the Ganga and Teesta rivers. Treatment of minorities, particularly Hindus. Border management. Trade imbalances. Connectivity projects.What happens next will shape not just bilateral ties, but the balance of South Asia itself, points out Ramesh Menon.
Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday said it is 'consulting all stakeholders' to decide the fate of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, as authorities beefed up security around his residence in the wake of protests demanding his removal over comments that raised questions on prime minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation.
With these four, the strength of the members -- all equivalent to ministers -- in the interim government's advisory council rose to 21.
Shahabuddin is currently lodged in Siwan jail after he was shifted from New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences following his successful surgery in November 2005.
Earlier the court had directed that a special court would conduct all criminal cases pending against Shahabuddin in the premises of Siwan jail itself.
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh will take oath on Thursday, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said.
Shahabuddin was recently shifted to Beur Jail in Patna from Siwan following the Election Commission's directive.
The quantum of sentence will be announced on May eight.
He was released on the orders of Chief Minister Rabri Devi, sources said.
He said the Special Auxiliary Police were directed to keep a close watch on the jail.
Pleading the court for better treatment, Shahabuddin had even prayed for mercy killing.
It is for the first time that Shahabuddin -- arrested in Delhi in November 2005 -- has been convicted in a criminal case.
The case was filed by the forest department following recovery of a live cheetal and cheetal and tiger skins along with some photographs depicting Shahabuddin posing with a rifle over a dead cheetal from his house at Pratappur in Siwan.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to 2006 Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus as head of the country's interim government at the Bangabhaban in Dhaka.
The warrants notwithstanding, Shahabuddin was in an RJD delegation that called on the Election Commissioners recently and had addressed a function organised by RJD minority cell at Muzaffarpur.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP from Siwan Mohammed Shahabuddin gets three years' rigorous imprisonment
Two other mobile sets and four chargers were recovered from his supporters in the adjoining cell.
The RJD MP surrendered last month in connection with a case of abduction and suspected murder of CPI-ML activist Munna Chaudhary in 2001.
Four separate chargesheets in as many cases were filed in the court of Siwan Chief Judicial Magistrate A K Barial.
Official sources in Siwan jail said that some of the inmates were injured in the violent clash, but the situation was brought to normal.
Bihar DGP D P Ojha also rejected suggestions that he was delaying the ruling RJD MP's arrest under political pressure.
Bangladesh plunged into chaos after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and fled the country in the wake of mounting protests on August 5.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin has got 10-year imprisonment in a case under the Arms Act.
His name has cropped up in connection with the abduction and suspected murder of CPI-ML activist Munna Chaudhary in 2001.
Special Judge Gyaneshwar Srivastava turned down the prayer of the prosecution on the ground that it would amount to judicial over activism.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Gyaneshwar Prasad Srivastava of the special court in Siwan jail also pronounced a fine of Rs 1,000 on him.
Justice Shivakirti Singh granted regular bail to the controversial Lok Sabha member from Siwan in connection with the case registered at Hussainganj police station in Siwan district against him in 2001 for illegally possessing sophisticated firearms. Shahabuddin will, however, not be released as he is serving life sentence for abducting and murdering a CPI-ML activist Chotelal Gupta on May 7, 1999.
A Siwan court had sentenced him to life imprisonment for kidnapping a CPI-ML worker in 1999.
The Awami League leaders were charged with committing crimes against humanity over the deaths of hundreds of people during last year's anti-government protests by a student platform. The protests resulted in the ouster of Hasina's 16-year-long regime on August 5.
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