Hours after his arrest, a Dhaka court yesterday sent Ekushey TV Chairman Abdus Salam to jail in a case filed under “Pornography Control Act” with the cantonment police.
Metropolitan Magistrate Meher Nigar Sultana set tomorrow to hear the remand and bail pleas as the prosecution failed to present case document.
A woman from Matikata area under Cantonment police station of the capital filed the case on November 7 last year against four people including Mohammad Elias, a senior reporter of the channel. The three other accused are Jahirul Haque Imran, Shahjalal and Md Jakir Hossain.
Investigation Officer of the case and DB Inspector Shah Mohammad Aktheruzzaman Ilias placed Salam before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court seeking seven-day remand for Salam.
On the other hand, defence counsel Mohammad Saidur Rahman sought bail for Salam, also CEO of the channel.
The IO said the channel in its regular programme “Ekusher Chokh” aired a naked video of the plaintiff in its episode of November 6 last year. Salam provided all kinds of logistics and directives to the persons for making the episode, which is a punishable offence.
The remand prayer states that it is mysterious why Salam despite being chairman of a mass media allowed it.
Salam, 50, was arrested by the members of DB police after coming out of office at Karwan Bazar around 3am yesterday. Later, he was taken to the DB headquarters on Mintoo Road.
Taking to reporters, ETV’s Additional General Manager Tareq Tabib said Salam was on his car to go home. When the vehicle reached the main gate, a group of 10-12 police in plain clothes appeared and asked for his identity.
As Salam identified himself, the plainclothes men asked him to walk out of the car. But as he refused, the plainclothes men then asked his driver to get out of the car. They then dragged the driver and took Salam away with the car identifying themselves as DB police.
According to the case, the plaintiff got married with Shahjalal in 1999. After five years, he went abroad for some personal reasons. At that time, the plaintiff met with accused Imran. She claims that she treated him like a brother. However, Imran with an ill motive took her photographs secretly and circulated in on the internet making a naked video clip.
Meantime, Shahjalal came back and as per suggestion of Jakir started torturing the plaintiff to grab her properties. At that time, the ETV reporter had helped them in circulating the naked video.
Although the ETV chairman was shown arrested in the pornography case, DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman while talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday morning mentioned that Salam had been shown arrested in a case filed under the ICT Act.
When contacted, Atikur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Cantonment police, told the Dhaka Tribune that three case were filed with the police station regarding the ETV programme. “Although the cases were filed against the reporter, Salam is also responsible for the offence as the chairman of the channel.”
However, sources say Salam has been arrested for giving Tarique Rahman, the BNP senior vice-chairman, much coverage. On Sunday, transmission of the channel was disrupted in many areas of the country around noon.
The sources also say the channel might face legal action under the ICT Act for covering Tarique’s programmes since the BNP leader is wanted in over a dozen of corruption and criminal cases.
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu yesterday claimed that they had not created any obstacle in the transmission of the channel. “We have not issued any directives. The media is operating freely,” he added.