“Shisu Bokta” (child speaker) Rafiqul Islam Madani has given confessional statements in the cases filed against him under the Digital Security Act and the Pornography Control Act.
When produced before the court of Gazipur Senior Judicial Magistrate Sheikh Nazmunnahar on Friday, Rafiqul Islam Madani gave a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the court on Friday.
Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Senior Assistant Commissioner Shubhashish Dhar confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
He confessed to the charges brought against him by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Shubhashish Dhar said that the RAB-1 investigative officer interrogated Rafiqul Islam Madani, who was arrested in a case filed by the RAB with Gachha police station in the metropolis, on a one-day remand.
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After the questioning, Madani was produced in court on Friday.
Apart from Gachha police station in Gazipur, there are cases lodged against him with Basan police and Tejgaon police in Dhaka.
Four mobile phones were seized from Rafiqul Islam Madani.
On April 7, GMP Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Iltutmish said after forensic tests of the seized mobile phone, it was found that Madani used to regularly view adult pictures and videos on his mobile phone, and he would also store and distribute the website link to others.
Subsequently, an accusation under Section 8 (5) (a) of the Pornography Control Act 2012 was added in the case filed against him.
Two cases have been filed against him under the Digital Security Act.
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On the morning of April 7, RAB-1 members arrested Rafiqul Islam Madani from his house in Letirkanda area of Purbadhala upazila of Netrakona. He was handed over to Gachha police station the same night.
On April 8, RAB-1 Nayeb Subedar Md Abdul Khaled filed a case against Rafuqul under the Digital Security Act. Rafiqul Islam Madani was produced in the court of Gazipur Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Shariful Islam after being shown arrested in the case.
After the hearing, the court sent him to Gazipur District Jail. He was later transferred to Kashimpur Central Jail-2 on April 10.
A separate case was filed against him under the Digital Security Act with GMP's Basan police station on April 11.
On March 26, police detained Rafiqul from Motijheel during a demonstration protesting against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Dhaka visit, but he was released a couple of hours later.
Why was he arrested?
"Shishu Bokta" Rafiqul Islam Madani, 28, has been accused of spreading negative and provocative remarks about the state through YouTube, which created panic in the minds of the people and disrupted law and order.
According to the cases against him, Rafiqul directly called for armed jihad and incited terrorism through his videos on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media websites.
Several destructive activities were carried out in various places, including Dhaka, Brahmanbaria and Chittagong, following his provocative statements.
