Sued Under DSA: Labour leader Ruhul Amin gets bail
2 held in DSA cases in Bandarban
Ruhul Amin was released from jail after a court yesterday granted him bail in a case filed under the controversial Digital Security Act.
The Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court passed the order around noon, Ruhul's lawyer Akhter Jahan Ruku told The Daily Star, adding that the bail was granted upon a bond of Tk 10,000.
Meanwhile, police arrested two more men under the Digital Security Act (DSA) in remote Naikhyangchhari, Bandarban, for making "anti-state" posts on Facebook.
Ruhul Amin, coordinator of Sramik-Krishak-Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad, and Niaz Murshid Dolan, a member of the association, were arrested on February 26 at the house of cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore in Goalkhali area of Khulna.
Dolan was released the next day.
Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Mohammad Nahid Hasan then accused Ruhul in a case filed under the DSA.
The complaint said Ruhul used his Facebook account to spread misinformation, tarnish the image of the state and the government, and create animosity, instability and chaos among the people in order to destabilise law and order.
Ruhul has been organising jute mill workers in Khalishpur, Khulna, since 2017, raising demand for better work conditions and regular payment of salaries.
He was denied bail twice on March 2 and 14.
Ruhul was arrested the first time in 2018. Last year, he was arrested in July while handing out flyers, and in October while marching in a "coffin procession" demanding reopening of closed mills in Khalishpur.
He said he was often pressured to quit working on labour issues in the area and in December, 2019, he was assaulted by Jubo League and Chhatra League activists.
In remote Naikhyangchhari, Bandarban, Oli Ahmed, 30, and Hamidur Rahman, 29, were arrested under the DSA over their Facebook posts, said Mohammed Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Naikhyangchhari Police Station.
Oli was arrested around 2:00am and Hamidur around 9:00am yesterday, said the OC.
"They were spreading anti-state posts in social media for a long time and making defamatory remarks about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, " the officer added.
"Hamidur is a supporter of Hefajat-e-Islam and Oli a Shibir man," he said.
On Saturday, police arrested another man in Bandarban town in a case filed under the DSA for allegedly criticising the "lockdown" on Facebook.
Besides, a young man in Khagrachhari landed in jail on Sunday in a case filed under the DSA over his Facebook comments.