Bangladesh police Sunday arrested national cricketer Arafat Sunny for allegedly breaching strict internet laws after his girlfriend accused him of uploading sensitive photos on social media.
Police raided the home of the 30-year-old, left-arm bowler from Aminbazar area in Dhaka after his girlfriend filed a complaint two weeks ago, said Mohammadpur police station Officer-in-Charge Jamaluddin Mir.
“She said Sunny opened up a fake Facebook account of hers and posted their personal photos, which she found offensive and defamatory,” OC Jamaluddin told AFP.
“We have arrested him and sent him to court, seeking to take him into custody for five days for questioning.”
At the court hearing, the police was granted one day in remand.
If found guilty, Sunny could face up to 14 years in jail or a fine of Tk1 crore ($126,340) under the ICT Act, which local right groups say is being used to crack down on dissent.
There was no immediate comment from the cricketer.
“It seems to be a personal matter. We don’t want to comment now, however, we are observing (the situation),” Bangladesh Cricket Board Chief Executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told AFP.
The plaintiff alleged she got married to Arafat in December 2014 without involving their families. When she repeatedly asked him to either accept her as a wife publicly or leave her, the cricketer took to blackmailing her on Facebook, she said in the complaint.
In the case statement, she said Arafat opened a fake account using her name and image, but with his phone number. Using the fake account, he sent her intimate photos of them together and threatened to expose them to public, said Mohammadpur police station Sub-Inspector.
She claimed Arafat had sent her nude photos and threatened to make things worse for her.
At the court hearing, her lawyer produced the marriage certificate as evidence.
Earlier, Arafat’s brother Faysal claimed the plaintiff was a stalker who was infatuated with Arafat. He claimed Arafat’s dismissal of her advances have caused her to press these charges.
Source : Dhaka Tribune
