The Khulna correspondent of English national Dhaka Tribune has been arrested on charges brought under the Digital Security Act over a report the newspaper ran on vote counting in Khulna-1 constituency.
Md Hedait Hossain Molla, who also serves as the correspondent for Bangla Tribune, was arrested on Tuesday (Jan 1) and sent to jail after he was produced in court.
“He has been arrested in a case filed by the Batiaghata UNO, who served as the assistant returning officer for the voting,” Superintendent of Police SM Shafiullah told Bangla Tribune.
“The returning officer informed the Election Commission before the case was filed. The suspect was arrested and produced in court,” he said.
Inspector Sarkar Ibrahim Sohel of Batiaghata police, who is in charge of the investigation, said Bangla national ‘Daily Manabzamin’ Khulna Correspondent Rashidul Islam has been also named in the case, but they are yet to trace him.
“The case documents included copies of the reports ran by Manabzamin and Dhaka Tribune. Initial investigations suggest that they were based on false information,” he told Bangla Tribune.
Dhaka Tribune ran a report on vote counting in Khulna-1 constituency, which encompasses the Batighata and Dacope Upazilas of the southwestern district.
In his case, the assistant returning officer claimed that the contents of the report were untrue.