Teacher in jail for 18 days in case under DSA

A college teacher has been languishing in Kushtia District Jail for 18 days. His crime was that he made a comment on social media about a local Awami League leader.

Rajibul Alam, who teaches computer science at Paksey Railway Degree College in Pabna, is facing a case under the controversial Digital Security Act (DSA).

According to the First Information Report (FIR), a political science teacher of the same college, Shad Ahmed, uploaded a Facebook post on December 6 last year, two days after a sculpture of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was defaced in Kushtia.

In the post, Shad compared Hefajat-e-Islam to a "cobra" and said the snake's "poisonous teeth have defamed Bangabandhu" and so "the fangs of Hefajat" must be uprooted.

In the comment section of the post, Rajibul wrote he heard that the sculpture was vandalised by Ataur Rahman Ata, "brother" of a central Awami League leader.

He also wrote Khulna range's Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police Nahidul Islam, however, said the sculpture was vandalised by Hefajat men.

Ata is the general secretary of Kushtia town AL and also chairman of Kushtia sadar upazila parishad.

But the case was not filed by him, it was lodged by Kushtia Sadar Upazila Jubo League leader Mizanur Rahman Mizu, who said the Facebook comment angered him.

Mizanur in the FIR states, "By circulating this confusing information, the accused has created enmity among the general public and created unrest and indiscipline in the society. By doing this, the accused has defamed our beloved leader Ataur Rahman Ata."

He initiated the legal proceeding against Rajibul under sections 25, 29 and 31 of the DSA.

These sections subsequently criminalise the transmission of offensive, false or threatening information in order to annoy, insult, humiliate or malign a person, affect the image or reputation of the country, create enmity, hatred or hostility among different classes or communities of the society, destroy communal harmony, and cause the law and order to deteriorate.

Rajibul's lawyer Enamul Haque told this correspondent that his client had been granted eight weeks bail by the High Court in the case. "At the end of the bail period, he was asked to appear before a lower court.

"As per the court order, Rajibul appeared before the Kushtia Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on February 18 and sought bail again. But Judge Syed Habibul Islam denied him the bail and sent him to jail," said Enamul.

On March 3, Rajibul was brought to the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Rezaul Karim. At that time, Sub-inspector Masudur Rahman of Kushtia Model Police Station, who is also the case's investigation officer (IO), sought a five-day remand for interrogation of the accused.

After the hearing, the court granted one day remand for Rajibul. He was taken into remand, and sent back to jail on March 7.

Asked whether he was anyway affected by the Facebook comment of Rajibul, Ata said, "I did not file the case … I have no comments. Someone else is prosecuting Rajibul, the court will understand this."

The comment in question was removed from Facebook.