Police have arrested a college student in Panchagarh for allegedly making “offensive” remarks in a Facebook post about State Minister for Water Resources and Panchagarh-2 MP Farhad Hossain Azad.
The student, Nishad Islam, 20, was detained during a late-night drive on Friday in the Hajipara area of Debiganj upazila.
On Saturday morning, a case was filed against him under the Cyber Security Act by Abdus Salam, senior joint convener of Debiganj Sadar Union Jubo Dal. Police later showed him arrested in the case and sent him to jail through the court in the afternoon.
Nishad is the son of Ashraful Alam of Hajipara area under Debiganj Sadar Union and a Class 12 student of Sonahar Technical and BM College.
According to police and local sources, Nishad had shared a photo card on Facebook on Friday featuring a statement made by the state minister in parliament, along with what was described as an “offensive” comment. The post later went viral on social media before being deleted.
As the post spread on Facebook, it triggered discontent among local BNP activists. To prevent any untoward situation, police detained Nishad around 11pm on Friday.
Officer-in-Charge of Debiganj Police Station, Md Selim Malik, said: “Tension arose in the area over the offensive Facebook post about the state minister. There were fears of an attack on the young man’s home, so police brought him to the station to control the situation and verify the matter. He admitted to making and later deleting the post. A Jubo Dal leader has filed a case against him under the Cyber Security Act, and he was produced before the court.”
Earlier, on Wednesday, another college student, Shakil Ahmed, 26, was arrested in Debiganj under the Cyber Security Act for allegedly posting “offensive” content on Facebook involving his own photo and that of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s daughter, Zaima Rahman.
He was arrested from the Bhaulaganj Bazar area of Chilahati Union. A case was filed against him at Debiganj Police Station at 12:05am on Wednesday by Mostafizur Rahman, also known as Samrat, joint general secretary of Chilahati Union BNP. He was later sent to jail in that case.