Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has launched legal procedure against the persons who run 150 profiles on different social networking sites, especially Facebook, for their alleged involvement in spreading rumours and propaganda to instigate anarchy during the recent student movement for safer roads.
“We have so far filed six cases under the ICT Act against over 50 profiles for their direct involvement in provoking the students by spreading propagandas and rumours via Facebook, Twitter and other online portals,” DMP’s Deputy Commissioner of Cyber Security and Crime Division Md Alimuzzaman told BSS on Monday.
He said: “Scrutinizing over 1,500 profiles on different social media, we have found over 150 accounts as vibrant and some 80 to 90 have appeared as highly vibrant.”
He also added that they have already arrested 11 people for their direct involvement in provoking the students.
Alimuzzaman said the cybercrime unit itself has filed two cases with Ramna police, accusing 46 profiles under the ICT Act, and arrested four persons, including zoombangla.com owner Yusuf Chowdhury and Tareque Zia Cyber Force moderator Md Waliullah.
Meanwhile, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has filed a case against actor QuaziNawshaba Ahmed at Uttara west police station under the ICT Act, and she was remanded for six days in two phases.
Besides, DMP’s Detective Branch filed another case with Ramna police accusing veteran photographer and Drik owner Shahidul Alam, who is also now in police custody.
Rupnagar police also arrested another social media activist, Shahida Akhter Ruma, and lodged a case against her under the same law.
On the other hand, Dhanmondi police has filed another case against a person who was reportedly very active on social media in instigating the students against the government.
DMP Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia also said: “We have already started a crackdown on the cyber criminals after identifying them and gradually all of them will be caught.”
Terming the move a “difficult war,” he said: “It’s a new move for us because the social networking sites are being run with different policies from abroad. The domains of the online portals are also hosted abroad.”
Students of different educational institutions had demonstrated in Dhaka, and later across the country, in demand of safe roads and strict implementation of traffic laws for a week, after two college students died under the wheels of a speeding bus on the capital’s Airport Road on July 29.
However, violence marred the demonstrations in Dhaka on August 4 and 5 when police and activists of reportedly ruling party affiliate organizations got involved.
