Engineer sued under DSA for FB post

Police yesterday arrested a diploma engineer from Chattogram's Banshkhali upazila in connection with a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) after he made a Facebook post over "SS Power I Plant" at the upazila's Gandamara union.

The arrestee is Shahnewaz Chowdhury, 37, of the upazila, said police sources.

Humayun Kabir, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Anwara Circle police, told The Daily Star, "Shahnewaz was held from his house after Faruk Ahmed, chief coordinator of the power plant, filed a case with Banskhali Police Station, accusing the engineer of tarnishing the power plant's image."

According to the case statement, Shahnewaz, on Wednesday, wrote on his Facebook "[Deaths] over an environment-destructing coal power plant. People of Banshkhali imagine that Gandamara has been upon the tide of development but today people have really seen that Gandamara's inhabitants are being submerged by the tidal surge."

In the case statement, the engineer was accused of posing a security threat for the power plant by instigating locals and spreading propaganda and misinformation, sources said.

S Alam Group is installing the 1,224 megawatt coal-fired power plant -- the SS Power I Plant -- at Pashchim Gandamara.

It is a joint venture of six companies of S Alam Group (holding 70 percent of the equity), SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation, China and HTG Development Group Co Ltd, China, according to the official website of S Alam group.

At least seven workers were killed and another 18 were injured after a clash broke out between police and power plant workers on April 17.

After the incident police filed a case with Banshkhali Police Station accusing 2,500 unidentified people on charge of attacking law enforcers, while the power plant authorities lodged another case accusing 22 named and 1,040 unnamed people over setting vehicles on fire during the incident.