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Former minister Suranjit Sengupta now heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
Aggrieved over journalist Probir Sikdar’s arrest and remand, senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta has said a conscious human being cannot just act normal over the incident.
Sikdar stands accused in a case under the ICT Act, which was filed in Faridpur on Sunday hours after police in Dhaka picked him up from his office.
The allegation brought against him is ‘defaming’ LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain in a post in social media.
On Tuesday, a Faridpur court granted police three days to question the journalist.
“Handcuffing an amputee, publishing his photograph and remanding him hurriedly did not seem to be something normal to me.
“He had to be taken to Faridpur at the dead of night? The police and DB (detective branch) became so efficient?” is what Suranjit told a television channel on Tuesday.
Any conscious human being cannot just act normal after such an incident, said Suranjit, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
“Journalists, journalism are an institution. I think an institution should not go against another institution.”
The government says Sikdar was not arrested for his comments against anyone.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal (File Photo)
“He was not arrested intentionally. We have not held anyone to muzzle anyone, for publishing news or for expressing his opinion. He was detained upon specific complaints made by an individual,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the press on Tuesday.
Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu, however, said the matter was ‘unfortunate’.
“I personally know journalist Probir Sikdar. He had faced similar troubles a few years back, when I helped him in my little capacity.
Hasanul Huq Inu (File Photo)
“What’s happening with him now is unfortunate. The information ministry will ensure that he gets his legal right,” he said.
Rights organisations have been vocal on the matter since Sunday when police detained the journalist from his office at Dhaka’s Indira Road, but Workers’ Party Chief Rashed Khan Menon declined comment.
“I will not say anything on this,” said Menon, who is serving as the civil aviation and tourism minister.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) has condemned the arrest of Sikdar, who had lost 14 family members, including his father, in the 1971 war against Pakistan.
“We have already issued a statement from the party. We demand his immediate release,” said CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim.
Probir Sikdar (File Photo)
Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, the platform pressing for war criminals’ trial since the 90s, also demanded Sikdar’s release.
“The arrest of Probir Sikdar for criticising a controversial member of the Sheikh Hasina-led Cabinet will agitate the pro-liberation elements,” reads their statement.
It said a case may be filed if he has committed a crime under the ICT Act and the matter about which he wrote should be probed.
“It should be also investigated who with what intention is trying to make the pro-liberation forces and the Sheikh Hasina government pit against each other. Such abuse of the ICT Act will question the government’s achievements,” says the statement.
Source: Bd news24
