Police arrested a leader of Khulna’s Sramik-Krishak-Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad under the controversial Digital Security Act. Ruhul Amin, coordinator of the organisation, was picked up by plainclothesmen on Friday night.
Ruhul Amin on Friday afternoon gave a Facebook post on the custodial death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed. Ruhul lives in the Khulna house of cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, who was arrested along with the deceased Mushtaq. A team of detective branch of police picked him up from that house.
Police also detained Oikya Parishad’s organiser Niaz Murshed but later freed him at around 12:30am.
Niaz told Prothom Alo that a joint team consisting of higher officials of DB and Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) conducted the drive on the house at around 10:00pm. Ruhul Amin and some others were taking part in an online live programme on labour politics at the moment. They were picked up from the house and were taken to the DB office.
Later the law enforcers freed Niaz but kept Ruhul Amin for interrogation.
At that moment, they came to learn that Ruhul might be shown arrested in a case under Digital Security Act, Niaz said.
DB’s deputy commissioner BM Nuruzzam told Prothom Alo that a case was filed against Ruhul Amin at the night for ‘destabilising the state’ and ‘creating social instability' and other reasons. An inspector of DB has become the plaintiff in the case.
The process is ongoing to seek remand for Ruhul after handing him over to the court, he added.
Meanwhile, Sramik-Krishak-Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad brought out a protest rally at 11:30am in front of Khulna deputy commissioner’s office. The rally paraded different roads of the city.
The protesters demand the authorities scrap the controversial Digital Security Act saying that the law has been used to stifle the people’s freedom of speech.