The then chief of the military intelligence, Major General (Retd) Hamidul Haque, was sent to forced retirement on September 12 last year despite being a key player in the regime change on August 5. He helped the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, neutralise the Bangladesh Army in collusion with the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Hamidul served as the chief of the Director General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) from November 2022 to August 12, 2024.
The daily Banik Barta reported on Saturday that an adviser to the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government requested Hamidul to remain in the DGFI and help in the reconstruction of the state and the military.
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Hamidul had assisted Gen Waker in various ways during the turbulent times in early August. Before August 5, former Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC) Major General (Retd) Ziaul Ahsan and former DG of the Special Security Force (SSF) Lt Gen (Retd) Mujibur Rahman were involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the army chief.
Hamidul still assisted the army chief. In addition, Hamidul was in contact with former army officers who were vocal in the anti-government movement before August 5.
Before the changeover, the court had ordered the freezing of his four bank accounts. However, ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Akhtarul Islam later told the media that the frozen bank accounts belonged to the DGFI. Those were blocked as personal bank accounts due to a clerical error. The ACC investigation against him is underway.
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In 2010, Hamidul was accused of providing information to media personnel on the BDR mutiny. He was warned about this and was at risk of losing his job.
Born in Cox’s Bazar in 1970, Hamidul joined the Bangladesh Army in 1988. After training, he was commissioned in the Army’s Infantry Corps on June 22, 1990. He was serving as the GOC of the 17th Infantry Division in Sylhet and the Area Commander of Sylhet.
He led the 99th Composite Brigade, which is responsible for the security of Padma Bridge, and the 203rd Infantry Brigade in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. He also served as the College Secretary of the National Defense College and a member of the college’s governing body.
Bonik Barta reported that when the situation was getting worse due to student-led protests in July-August, the government deployed troops across the country.
In an important meeting with the army chief on August 3, young army officers expressed their stance of not firing on the people. Gen Waker also said that the army personnel would not fire on civilians.
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Lt Gen (Retd) Mujibur Rahman and Maj Gen (Retd) Ziaul Ahsan were dissatisfied with the leadership of Gen Waker as the army did not obstruct the protesters. So, they planned to remove Gen Waker and make Lt Gen (Gen) Mujibur Rahman the army chief with the permission of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
However, the army chief got the news through multiple sources. Hamidul was one of them. After learning about the plan, Hamidul did not keep himself neutral to maintain the existing balance but assisted the army chief.
According to security and political sources, there was active contact with Maj Gen (Retd) Hamidul not only within the military but also in political circles.
A source also claimed that he had close contact with a section of Jamaat-e-Islami. For this, Hamidul worked to neutralise the army during the student uprising or not activate it against the uprising.
The sources also claimed that this contact was established as part of the strategy to maintain neutrality within the army at that time. Although there has never been any official public statement on these matters, there are various discussions about it in internal circles.
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