A former joint secretary has been arrested over allegations that he forged documents and gave false testimony in the Zia Orphanage Trust case against former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Police say he is wanted in several other criminal cases.

On Wednesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam said Syed Jaglul Pasha had been arrested near Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday night.

He said Jaglul was detained around 8:30pm and that several cases had already been filed against him at different police stations.

DB officials said Jaglul had been kept under surveillance after flying to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar.

According to police, he is a suspect in a case filed under the Special Powers Act at Gulshan Police Station, the Parvez murder case linked to the Anti-discrimination Student Movement at Jatrabari Police Station, an Operation Eagle Hunt-related case at Shibganj Police Station in Chapainawabganj, and the murder case of BNP leader Altab Hossain at Daulatpur Police Station in Kushtia.

Police also say he is linked to a 2013 case over placing sand-filled trucks outside the BNP central office in Gulshan to create an obstruction.