In this photo from September 2, 2022, then-Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was speaking with Deputy Speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku. Currently, both are behind bars.

📷 ‍Sharif Khiam Ahmed

Newsman, Dhaka

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has detained Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the former Speaker of the National Parliament. She was taken into custody from her Dhanmondi residence late Monday night.

Additional Commissioner of DMP (DB), Md. Shahiful Islam confirmed the matter on Tuesday (April 7), stating that she is currently in DB custody in connection with a case. 

However, details regarding the nature of the case were not immediately disclosed, according to the state-run news agency BSS. 

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury made history as the first female Speaker of Bangladesh, serving from April 30, 2013, until her resignation on September 2, 2024. She held the position across the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th parliaments.

A former Member of Parliament from the Rangpur-6 constituency, she also previously served as the State Minister for Women and Children Affairs and chaired the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) from 2014 to 2017.

Following the student-led mass uprising and the subsequent fall of the Awami League government, many party leaders and high-ranking officials sought refuge in various military cantonments across the country.

In May 2025, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) officially confirmed that Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was among the individuals protected within the cantonment at that time.