Digital Security Act: Habiganj journo Sushanta denied bail once again

A Habiganj court yesterday once again rejected a bail petition by Sushanta Das Gupta, publisher and editor of the daily Amar Habiganj and founder of AmarMP.com.

Habiganj district and sessions judge Amzad Hosain rejected the bail prayer, after hearing in the case filed under Digital Security Act.

Another bail appeal by Sushanta on May 27 had also been also turned down.

Sayeduzzaman Zahir, general secretary of Habiganj Press Club, lodged the case against Sushanta and three other journalists of the newspaper on May 21, said Masuk Ali, officer-in-charge of Habiganj Police Station.

Rabiul Islam, assistant superintendent of Habiganj police, said the journalist was arrested from his newspaper office in the town's Chirakandi area on same day.

Asked about the reason for filing the case, Sayeduzzaman said Habiganj-3 lawmaker Abu Zahir is a "respected person"

"He is also the district Awami League president and a lifetime member of Habiganj Press Club. Recently, Sushanta Dasgupta's newspaper ran several false reports about Abu Zahir."

"I felt that the reports directly affected the image of the press club also. That's why I filed the case," he told The Daily Star.

Contacted, lawmaker Abu Zahir said, "My public image has been tarnished because of those false reports."

Sushanta's platform Amarmp.com provides contact information about parliamentarians, and allows constituents to communicate with their representatives. It was developed with support from the government's ICT Division.