A Dhaka court yesterday transferred a case filed under Digital Security Act against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol to Dhaka Cyber Tribunal for trial.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Debdash Chandra Adhikary passed the order after scrutinising the case documents, court sources said.
Sumaiya Chowdhury Bonya, a member of the central committee of Bangladesh Jubo Mahila League, a front organisation of the Awami League, lodged the case with Kamrangirchar Police Station on March 11 last year.
Upon conducting probe for about a year, Sub-inspector Mohammad Russell Mollah of the Detective Branch of Police, investigation officer of the case, submitted charge sheet to the magistrate’s court on March 14 this year.
According to the charge sheet, Kajol made a Facebook post, saying that Bonya was one of Papia’s accomplices in running her “illegal businesses”. Kajol also sent obscene texts and pornographic contents to various Facebook IDs.
It also mentioned that Kajol uploaded indecent, defamatory and objectionable information on the complainant’s husband.
The photojournalist is now facing three cases — all filed under the DSA.
Earlier on March 24, the Cyber Tribunal set April 22 for hearing on charge framing against Kajol in another case filed under the DSA. Usmin Ara Bally, a member of the central committee of Jubo Mahila League, lodged the case with Hazaribagh Police Station on March 10 last year.
Lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikhor also filed a case under the DSA with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station against Kajol on that day over the photojournalist’s Facebook post.
Kajol had disappeared the same day. Fifty-three days into his disappearance, he was found by Border Guard Bangladesh roaming around the Benapole border.
He then landed in jail in the three cases.
The lower court concerned kept denying him bail for seven months until the High Court on November 24 granted bail in one case and ordered the investigation officers concerned to submit reports in two other cases.
Finally, the HC on December 17 granted him bail in two other cases after Kajol’s lawyer pointed out that probe had to be concluded within 75 days of filing of the cases, and the investigators had failed to do so.
Source: The Daily Star
