Police took a police officer and a woman to a police station after breaking open the door of a flat in Rajshahi city on Friday morning following a 999 emergency call from the officer’s wife.

The two were later released as no one immediately filed any criminal complaint against them, said police.

The officer was identified as Mahbub Alam, who is currently attached to the Sirajganj In-Service Training Centre. He had previously served as officer-in-charge of Chandrima Police Station in Rajshahi.

His wife, Anni Akter, made the 999 call after allegedly learning that Mahbub had gone to a flat at Nader Haji intersection, where another woman was also present.

Anni told journalists that she went to the flat with relatives around 7:30am on Friday but found the door locked from inside. Police arrived after her emergency call, but those inside did not open the door.

Fire Service personnel later broke open the door and police took Mahbub and the woman to Chandrima Police Station.

While being taken to the police station, Mahbub told journalists that the woman accompanying him was his wife. He claimed Anni was his sixth wife and that he had divorced her four days earlier, producing a document relating to the divorce to police.

He did not, however, disclose when he had married the woman who was with him. The woman did not speak to journalists.

According to Anni, she had previously seen her husband with the same woman at a flat in Rajshahi’s Padma Residential Area on two occasions. She said she had not disclosed the matter publicly at the time in an effort to preserve her marriage.

She also claimed that she had submitted written complaints against Mahbub to a deputy inspector general of police on 8 September and the superintendent of police in Sirajganj on 9 September, but that he continued to maintain contact with the woman.

Anni alleged that Mahbub had become involved in relationships and marriages with several women while serving in different places. She said she married him this year and later learned about his previous marriage-related issues.

The flat where Mahbub and the woman were found was reportedly rented in the name of his foster daughter, who lives there with her husband.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police spokesman and Deputy Commissioner Md Gaziur Rahman said police and Fire Service personnel entered the flat after opening the door and found Mahbub with a woman.

“As there was a commotion at the scene, they were taken to the police station,” he said in a written statement sent to journalists.

Gaziur said Mahbub and the woman later claimed to be husband and wife, while Mahbub said he had divorced Anni a few days earlier.

“As no one immediately made any allegation of a criminal offence, Mahbub Alam and the woman were released from the police station,” he said.

He said Anni later submitted a written complaint against Mahbub, his foster daughter and her husband.

“Legal action will be taken after a preliminary inquiry into the matter,” Gaziur said.

In her written complaint, Anni claimed that she married Mahbub on 1 May and later learned about his previous marriage. She said she had accepted the matter in an effort to save their marriage.

She further alleged that she had paid a total of Tk17 lakh at different times to settle complaints made by Mahbub’s previous wife.