Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has halted the transmission of private satellite television channels Diganta TV and Islamic TV.
The country’s telecom regulator’s Spectrum Division has stopped the transmission of Diganta TV at around 4:20am Monday.
Sources said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Sajjad Hossain, director of BTRC’s Spectrum Management Division, conducted a drive at Diganta’s office and shut down its broadcast.
Diganta Television is a concern of Diganta Media Corporation, owned by Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Qasem Ali, currently facing war crimes trials at the International Crimes Tribunal.
The channel broadcasted live almost all of Sunday’s Motijheel rally of Hefazat-e-Islam.
Sunil Kanti Bose, chairman of BTRC, told Dhaka Tribune: “The transmission of the two private satellite television channels was suspended as per the government directive.”
“Information minister HasanulHaqueInu first gave a verbal directive and later we received an official letter from the information ministry to suspend the transmission of the two television channels,” Sunil added.
The BTRC chairman, before suspending transmission, confirmed with the home minister regarding the issue.
He said: “The home minister told me that the government can suspend the transmission of any television anytime under section 53 of Telecommunication Act 2001.”
However, Sunil refuted the allegations of damage to the television stations during the commission’s drive and said: “The allegations brought are false. The BTRC officials suspended the broadcast of the channels by just pulling the cables out.”
Meanwhile, officials, reporters and staff of the two televisions have gathered at the National Press Club auditorium Thursday morning.
Before this, three other private satellite television channels had been taken off air by the authorities on various grounds – EkusheyTelvision in 2002, CSB News in 2007 and Channel One in 2010.
