Dhaka, Dec. 8 -- Former president of the National Press Club and the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), senior journalist Shawkat Mahmud, was detained on Sunday from in front of his residence in the capital. Members of the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police picked him up in the afternoon, according to family sources.

Confirming the detention, Muhammad Talebur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of the DMP's Media and Public Relations Division, told media that Shawkat Mahmud had been taken into custody by the DB. He added that further details-including the exact location from where he was detained and the case under which he was arrested-would be disclosed soon.

Shawkat Mahmud, a well-known figure in the country'...