Former chief of army staff retired Lieutenant General M Harun-Ar-Rashid Birpratik was found dead at a room at Chattogram Club on Monday afternoon.
Harun, also a vice-president of the Sector Commanders Forum, was 77.
The body was recovered at about 12:00 noon after breaking the glass of a rear window of Room No 308 at the Chittagong Club in the city鈥檚 SS Khaled Road, said Chattogram Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for South Md Alamgir Hossain.
M Harun-Ar-Rashid, who served as the 10th Bangladesh Army chief from December 24, 2000 to June 16, 2002, arrived at Chattogram from Dhaka on Sunday afternoon to attend a court hearing related to a financial scam involving Destiny Group, where he was an accused.
鈥楬e checked into a VIP room of Chattogram Club at 4:00pm on Sunday and went out for a while in the evening. He returned to his room at around 10:45pm after reportedly attending a dinner event,鈥� DC Alamgir said.
Earlier in the morning, the club鈥檚 front desk staff called him over phone to inquire about his breakfast schedule, the deputy commissioner said.
鈥楲aw enforcers broke the glass of a rear window for entering the room with the help of the club鈥檚 staff. Upon entering, they found him lying lifeless in his bed. Initial assessment suggests he might have suffered a stroke,鈥� he added.
Bangladesh Army in a post on its verified Facebook page on Monday afternoon paid homage to their former chief.聽
CMP assistant commissioner for Kotwali zone Mahfuzur Rahman said that Harun鈥檚 family members being informed rushed to Chattogram Club.
鈥楢 medical team from Combined Military Hospital in Chattogram also arrived and confirmed the death after conducting an examination. There were no visible signs of injury on his body. Doctors have stated that it appears to be a case of natural death,鈥� the police official claimed.
Former army chief M Harun-Ar-Rashid was a recipient of the Birpratik gallantry award for his contribution the War of Independence.聽
Following his retirement from the army, he became involved in business with the Destiny Group, a controversial multi-level marketing company.
He was later convicted in multiple cases related to financial irregularities and served time in prison.
M Harun-Ar-Rashid was born in 1948 in Hathazari of Chattogram.
