Police have been given two days to grill private TV channel Ekushey TV’s Chief Reporter MM Sekandar in custody on allegations of sexually harassing a female co-worker.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Sikder handed the order on Monday (Feb 4) after police produced him before it seeking five days in remand.

Earlier, members of Rapid Action Battalion arrested Sekandar from his Banasri residence in the capital around 2:30am on Monday (Feb 4).

Later in the morning, Sekandar was handed over to the Hatirjheel Police, where the victim lodged a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, said the station OC Abu Mohammad Fazlul Karim.

“Sekandar Ali has been named in the case as accused. He has been produced before the court,” he told Bangla Tribune.

Before lodging the case, the woman, who is a reporter in ETV, filed a written complaint to the channel authorities.

The three-page-long letter, she wrote to ETV’s Managing Director, details how the harassments took place.

She alleged that Sekandar has been sexually harassing her for a long time and when she took the matter to the higher authorities they didn’t pay any heed.

She said that she met with Sekandar in a private institute where she was pursuing a course on reporting. It was via Sekandar, who used to teach there, that she got a job in ETV.

Sekandar allegedly had been sexually harassing her ever since she joined the channel. She was made to stay at the office till late into the night without any reason. Sekandar, then used to offer to drop her home only for the intent of harassing her in his car, she claimed.

She further alleged that a number of other employees of ETV helped Sekandar harassing her.

When asked on the matter, ETV’s News Editor Debashish Roy told Bangla Tribune, “We learned about it from our co-worker victim’s written complaint. We want a fair probe into the matter. Such harassment in the workplace is unacceptable. Our co-worker showed the courage to seek justice for the offence and we are with her.

We too demand justice,” he added.

ETV’s Managing Director (MD) Mohammad Ali Shikadar told Bangla Tribune, “I formed a committee to look into the matter as soon as I received the written complaint. I also talked with the victim reporter and told her to proceed through the legal route.”

“What happened to her is traumatizing and a criminal offence,” he said before adding that the ETV authorities have served the accused with a show-cause notice.

He also said that they promised all kinds of help to the victim.

“We will do everything we need to do for her,” said the MD.

Sekander was unavailable for comments as he is in police custody. His family was unreachable for comments as well.