Inspector fined Tk 5 lakh for remarks against JS whip

A Dhaka tribunal yesterday fined a suspended police inspector Tk 5 lakh in a case filed over  remarks on social media against parliament whip Shamsul Haque Chowdhury in September 2019.

Judge AM Zulfiker Hayet of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal found Mahmud Saiful Karim alias Saif Amin guilty and pronounced the punishment, said Special Public Prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim.

"If the inspector fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve 18 months in jail," the judge said in his judgment.

Soon after the verdict, the convict submitted two applications, seeking bail and seven days for payment of the fine. Both were granted by the judge.

On September 25 of 2019, Shamsul Haque, also the general secretary of Chattogram Abahani Club, filed a case against Saiful Karim with Dhaka Cyber Tribunal under the Digital Security Act.

The whip alleged that the then inspector Saiful Karim commented on Facebook on September 20, 2019, that Shamsul Haque earned Tk 180 crore from gambling, a false and fabricated claim that tarnished his image.

DMP's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit investigated the matter and found the allegations against the inspector true. They submitted the report to the tribunal on February 2 of 2020.

Following the report, the accused inspector was suspended from service. The tribunal framed charges against him on December 19, 2020.