The Detectives Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has submitted charge sheet against four journalists including Daily Inqilab Editor and Publisher AMM Bahauddin, in a case filed for running a report on the daily’s website.
The other charge-sheeted accused are Inqilab’s News Editor Rabiullah Rabi, City Editor Sakhawat Hossain Badsha and the reporter concerned.
Praloy Kumar Jaarder, acting assistant inspector general (AIG) of police, filed the case under the Information and Communications Technology Act against the four journalists on August 19, 2014.
After completing probe, Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Md Azizur Rahman, also investigating officer in the case, submitted the charge sheet to the court of Dhaka’s chief metropolitan magistrate on December 31 last year.
A total of 14 people, including the plaintiff, were named in the charge sheet as prosecution witnesses.
After accepting the charge sheet on January 21, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate sent it to the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM). On February 1, the CMM sent the case to the Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal.
According to case documents, AIG Proloy Kumar Joardar accused the newspaper of violating the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) act.
“The case was filed for attempts to harm religious sentiment and jeopardise the administration by publishing this report.”
On August 18, 2014, the Daily Inqilab ran a front page report titled “A police official enjoying unchallenged authority using the prime minister’s name.”
The story alleged that Joardar abused his powers in the recruitment and transfer of officials at the police headquarters, and in the selection of officers to take part in United Nations (UN) peace keeping missions abroad.
The report also alleged that Joardar, a Hindu and former protocol officer of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had created a “Hindu League” within the police department.
The plaintiff also mentioned that the report was an attempt to hurt his religious sentiments and break the chain of command in the police force as it stated that Praloy was creating divisions among senior police officials.
Although the news was published in the daily’s print edition on August 18, 2014, the case was filed under Sections 57 and 66 of the ICT act for publishing the report on the daily’s online edition.
Hours after filing the case, Rabiulla Rabi, news editor of Bangla daily Inqilab, was arrested in the case and placed on remand. Later he got bail from the High Court in the case on December 23, 2014.
