DSA misused in Naogaon incident: Law minister

Law minister Anisul Huq on Thursday said the Digital Security Act has been misused over the incident of Sultana Jesmin, who died in the custody of Rapid Action Battalion after being picked up from Naogaon town.

The minister made the remarks while talking to newspersons at the secretariat in Dhaka.

Anisul Huq said when the woman from Naogaon was picked up, no case was filed against her under the Digital Security Act and the lawsuit was registered the following day.

The Digital Security Act has been misused here and the woman was also not detained under this act either, he added.

Replying to a query on misuse of Digital Security Act, the law minister said the act is being misused in some cases and action is being taken to stop it.

A team of RAB picked up Sultana Jesmin, 45, an office assistant of Chandipur union land office in Naogaon Sadar upazila, from Mukti intersection of Naogaon town at around 10:00am on 22 March. She died while undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in the morning of 24 March.

RAB claimed Sultana Jesmin was detained for interrogation on fraud charges and she died of illness after detention, but her relatives alleged the woman died of torture in RAB custody. The matter has now reached the High Court.