State minister’s ex-APS held

Hadis Mir, former assistant personal secretary (APS) to the state minister for water resources ministry, was detained by Barishal Metropolitan Police on Wednesday evening and handed over to a five-member DB team from Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Officer-in-Charge of Kawnia police Ajimul Karim said he is now in DB custody on various charges.

 SI Asif, a member of the DB team from Dhaka, said the former APS has been taken to the DB office on Minto Road in the capital.

Contacted, Md Mahabub Alam, joint commissioner of DB Police, said Hadis was arrested with numerous rubber stamps of government offices bearing different names. "We're investigating how these came to him and what he was doing with them."

Hadis was removed as APS of State Minister Zaheed Farooque on June 16, confirmed in a letter signed by senior assistant secretary to the ministry.

Locals allege Hadis of various misdeeds, including misappropriation of money in government projects, suspicious wealth accumulation, beating up a couple in his native village at Sapania and handing them over to the police.