Woman sells hair: Three including journo sued under Digital Security Act for ‘fake news’

The news report that said a woman was forced to sell her hair to buy milk for her one and a half-year-old child in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital, is a fake news, claimed local upazila administration and an activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League.

The Savar upazila administration called the journalists to say the report a fake one while the ruling party’s student wing activist, Ramijuddin Bhuiyan, filed a lawsuit in this regard with Savar police station on Thursday night.

Savar market road business association’s former president Obaidur Rahman, a local weekly magazine’s editor Omar Faruq and former Chhatra Dal leader Rajib Mahmud were made accused in the case filed under Digital Security Act.

The case statement said the woman came to Savar from a slum in Dhaka’s Mirpur around two months ago. She cut her hair one and a half months ago as she had been suffering from severe itching and dandruff problems. Now she is talking nonsense to damage the government’s image. Accused Rajib Mahmud and Omar Faruq ballooned the incident on social media and publicised it as a propaganda. Businessman Obaidur Rahman helped spreading the propaganda.

Savar police station officer-in-charge AFM Sayed confirmed about the filing of the suit. He said legal actions would be taken after investigations.

Savar upazila nirbahi officer Parvezur Rahman called the local journalists at his official residence on Thursday night. While discussing with them, he claimed the newspaper report that said a certain woman sold her hair to buy milk for her child was a fabricated one.

The UNO said they talked to that woman and learned that she came to Savar around one and a half months ago and sold her hair that time.

Upon learning the incident, upazila assistant commissioner (land) Abdullah Al Mahfuz went to her home and gave her relief materials. What the assistant commissioner said then was not fully reported in media, Parvezur Rahman said.

A vested quarter is trying to damage the image of the government and local administration amid the coronavirus pandemic, the UNO claimed.