Journalist sent to jail for alleged defamation of the state minister
Local government state minister Mir Shahe Alam continues to stay at the centre of controversies with the arrest of a newspaper’s acting editor and the revelation that a school in Bogura’s Shibganj was being renamed after him.
On Friday, detectives arrested acting editor Rejanur Islam of Dhaka-based Bangla daily Agrajatra Pratidin, confirmed Hossain Muhammad Rayhan, additional superintendent of police (crime and operatons), Bogura district.
The arrest was made in Joydevpur in connection with a defamation case filed against him by Md Tanvir Alam, treasurer of Bogura press club, in Bogura on June 15. The acting editor was sent to jail.
In another development, a post published on Friday on the verified Facebook page of the BNP Media Cell revealed that the government had decided to change the names of the newly formed ‘Simanta’ and ‘Diganta’ unions under Mokamtala upazila in Bogura.
The naming of the two unions in the Jatiya Sangshad constituency of the state minister came under criticism at the JS on June 15.
Simanta and Diganta are the names of two sons of Shahe Alam.
Quoting Bogura deputy commissioner Md Toufikur Rahman, the BNP Media Cell said that there was a directive from the prime minister regarding this matter.
Necessary procedures would be followed to change the names of the two unions, the media cell said citing the DC.
The procedures include fresh public hearing for selecting new names with importance to the opinions of local residents, the area’s history and heritage, and its geographical identity.
Once the new names are finalised, they will be published in a gazette following the appropriate procedures, the BNP Media Cell said referring to district administration insiders.
Meanwhile, a notice issued by the Secondary and Higher Education Division on June 9 came to light on Friday.
The notice reads that a proposal has been received to change the name of Shibganj Pilot Girls High School, Shibganj, Bogura to Shibganj Mir Shahe Alam Pilot Girls High School, Shibganj.
The notice was signed by the division’s senior assistant secretary Shirin Akhter who could not be reached over phone on Friday for comments.
On Thursday, National Citizens Party lawmaker Atikur Rahman Mojahid, making an oblique reference to Shibganj, said that Bangladesh was shifting towards a model which he described as ‘Bogura first’, with disproportionately large amounts of government funds being channelled to a single district.
The allocation received by Shahe Alam’s constituency made headline on Wednesday on the Sweden-based online news portal Netra News, under the headline ‘The development model of Shibganj’.
The report claimed that during the first four months of the BNP-led government, Shibganj, linked to state minister for local government, received the highest allocation for road and bridge projects in the country, with a significant portion of the work allegedly awarded to his son and BNP-affiliated contractors.
In a statement posted on the verified Facebook page of the BNP Media Cell on Friday night, state minister Shahe Alam said that misinformation was being spread against him on social media and across various media outlets.
He requested everyone not to file any lawsuits, issue statements, or take any other measures on their own initiative using the name of the state minister or claiming to act on his behalf.
The statement said the state minister had given no approval or instruction regarding such actions.
‘The Honorable State Minister expresses his sincere regret over the recent incident involving four individuals of the daily Agrajatra Pratidin,’ said the statement.
He hoped that all parties involved would reach a peaceful resolution through mutual discussion and legal procedures, and that the arrested journalist would be released soon.
‘Furthermore, given that the plaintiff in this case is also a journalist and the elected treasurer of Bogura Press Club, the State Minister calls upon everyone to exercise restraint and responsibility to ensure that this incident does not create any misunderstandings or tension between the two factions of the journalist community,’ the statement further reads.
In addition, the state minister extends a sincere request to respected journalists to objectively verify information concerning him before publishing any news reports, it said.
Shahe Alam did not reply to calls made to his phone for his comments on the matters.
