Police have arrested a 28-year-old man over a Facebook post that reportedly hurt religious sentiments of Muslims in Barhatta upazila of Netrokona district.

The arrested youth, Ayan Kanti Roy, is from Panchruhi Sheikhpara village in Barhatta upazila. He is working at a factory in Gazipur.

Ayan Kanti was arrested from the Netrokona municipal area last night and would be produced before the court today, said Barhatta Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Champak Dam.

According to police and local sources, Ayan Kanti allegedly made a Facebook post that hurt Muslim religious sentiments. The post quickly went viral on social media across the country, sparking widespread outrage and demands for his arrest.

Following the incident, Tawhidi Janata and local Islamic scholars brought out protest marches yesterday afternoon. Demonstrators gathered in front of Barhatta Police Station, demanding immediate legal action against the accused.

On the same allegation, Gazi Mohammad Abdur Rahim Ruhi, assistant general secretary of Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan, filed a written complaint against Ayan Kanti with Barhatta Police Station.

As tensions escalated, Ayan Kanti released a video message claiming that he had unknowingly copied and shared another person’s post. He also offered an unconditional apology.

Arman Hossain Bakki, joint general secretary of Barhatta Upazila Hefazat-e-Islam, said, “The derogatory remarks and obscene images attached to the post have deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the people. We do not want any untoward incident. That is why we demanded his swift arrest while remaining respectful to the law.”

OC Champak Dam further said, “We remained on high alert in the area from the moment the matter came to our attention. To prevent any unrest arising from such social media posts, we conducted a rapid operation and successfully arrested the accused.”