Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said Prothom Alo reporter Samsuzzaman Shams was arrested after a case was filed against him.
“Anyone can get angry for the publishing of news with false information on Independence Day. One of them filed a case against Samsuzzman Shams in Savar,” he said while talking to journalists at an event.
However, the minister could not immediately tell who filed the case.
“I do not know the details of Samsuzzaman's arrest. However, the fact that the news published by Prothom Alo was false, has been made clear by the news of Ekattor TV,” he said.
When asked why the Prothom Alo staff correspondent had to be picked up deep into the night, the home minister did not answer.
Earlier, a team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police picked up Prothom Alo reporter Samsuzzaman Shams from his rented house in Ashulia of Savar at around 5am on Wednesday.
A local journalist present at Samsuzzaman's house at the time said an officer told them that Samsuzzaman would be returned home after interrogation.
A police officer told the owner of that house that there was an objection against Samsuzzaman for one of his reports.
The Prothom Alo reporter spoke to people, including a child named Shobuj, on March 25, on the eve of Independence Day, and submitted a report on people's suffering due to price hikes. The report was published on March 26.
The news drew criticism as the newspaper used the child's photo with a quote from a 40-year-old labourer named Zakir, identifying the child as Zakir and not Shobuj.
Prothom Alo withdrew the report within about half an hour and issued a correction later in the day, saying there was an inconsistency between the headline and the accompanying photo. Alongside the news item, the newspaper had also posted a poster on its social media handle.
