A senior official of an intelligence agency told UNB that they have already identified over 100 such bloggers and several blogs involved in carrying out anti-Islamic write-ups.
Following strict instruction from the government, the intelligence agencies started their surveillance work to identify the blogs and bloggers, he said. “Action will be taken against the bloggers by phases,” he said preferring anonymity.
Additional Home Secretary Mainuddin Khandakar, who heads a nine-member committee formed to identify such bloggers, told reporters on March 31 that the panel has already identified 30-35 bloggers involved in posting write-ups denigrating Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) on different blogs and social cites.
He categorically said punishment would be meted out to them if they are found involved in posting contents on facebook or blogs denigrating Islam and the Prophet after investigation. “The government has already directed Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to monitor the facebook and blogs round the clock.”
However, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir on Wednesday said the committee has found the engagement of 11 bloggers in posting anti-Islamic contents on the internet. “Four of them were arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police while remaining would be arrested soon.”
The Home Ministry formed the high-profile committee on March 13 amid outcry from the country’s Alem-Ulema and Mashayekh.
Hefazat-e-Islam is scheduled to launch a long march towards Dhaka from Chittagong on Saturday demanding the arrest of ‘anti-Islamic bloggers and the atheists and the enemies of Islam’.
Plainclothes police started a crackdown against the identified bloggers and they have already arrested four of them.
A DB team early Wednesday arrested blogger Asif Mohiuddin from Segunbagicha in the city. He is now being interrogated in DB custody.
Earlier, on Monday night, the detectives arrested three bloggers –– Mashiur Rahman Biplob, 42, (online pseudonym ‘Allama Shaitan’), ex-student of Dhaka university, Russell Parvez, 36, (‘Apobak’) and Subrata Shuvo, 25, (`Lalu Kasai’) from different areas of the city on charge of making derogatory comments against Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) through the internet. They are being also grilled under the custody of detectives.
A number of bloggers came under attacks for their derogatory comments about Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM) through the internet.
On February 15, blogger Rajib, (‘Thaba Baba’ online) was hacked to death at Polashnagar in the city’s Pallabi area.
Even blogger Asif was stabbed at Uttara on January 14. Later, DB police arrested four suspected Islamic militants from different parts of the capital on Sunday night on charge of attacking and injuring Asif.
According to official figure, there are 48 blogs and 2.5 lakh users while the number of blogger is 328 as per Anjuman-e-Al Baiyenat.
