HC orders removal of objectionable audios, videos of Murad from social media

The High Court on Tuesday directed Bangladesh's telecom regulator to take necessary steps to remove all objectionable audios and videos of state minister for information Murad Hassan from social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, reports UNB.

A division bench of justices M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman gave the order to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and also asked deputy attorney general Bipul Bagmar to submit an action-taken report by Wednesday morning, in the wake of a plea by a leading Supreme Court lawyer.

In his petition, lawyer Syed Sayedul Haque Suman claimed that such "indecent, obscene audios and videos can have adverse effects on the society".

"The responsible agencies of the government should have removed these contents but as they did not, I've sought the High Court's direction in public interest," he said in his plea.

During a recent social media interview, the junior Minister made derogatory remarks on opposition BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman.

Meanwhile, a phone conversation of the minister with an actress recently went viral on social media. In that audio clip, Murad made derogatory comments on the actress, threatened her and gave her an indecent proposal.

Murad Hassan sent his resignation letter to the ministry on Tuesday.