Charge sheet against Elias-Babul in PBI chief’s case
The police has issued a charge sheet against four people including journalist Elias Hossain and former police SP Babul Akhtar in the Digital Security Act case. However, they were acquitted as the charges under the Special Powers Act were not proved. After six months of investigation, the charge sheet was submitted to the court on April 9.
As journalist Elias is absconding in the case, an arrest warrant has been applied against him. The other two accused in the charge sheet are Babul Akhter’s brother Md. Habibur Rahman Labu and father Md. Abdul Wadud Mia.
On Tuesday (April 25), the investigating officer of the case, Police Inspector (Operation) of Dhanmondi Model Police Station. Rabiul Islam confirmed this. The case is scheduled for April 27. The charge sheet will be presented in the court on this day. The trial of this case will be in the cyber tribunal of Dhaka.
According to sources related to the investigation, the accused Elias Hossain leaked the audio conversation of SP Babul Akhtar from his Facebook and YouTube channels. And Babul’s brother Labu and father Abdul Wadud made human bonds. They spread defamatory information seeking the release of Babul Akhtar. With the help of the accused Babul Akhtar, all those data were sent to the accused Elias. Later, the accused Elias leaked the audio information.
After the investigation, the offense under Section 25(2), 28(2), 31(2) and 35(2) of Digital Security Act 2018 has been proved. However, the offense under Section 16(2) and 25(d) of the Special Powers Act, 1974 was not proved.
On September 27, 2022, PBI chief Banaj Kumar Majumder filed the case at Dhanmondi police station in the capital. The case is charged under the Digital Security Act and the Special Powers Act. Babul Akhtar was arrested in this case on November 10 of that year.
He was then remanded for one day for questioning. After remand, he was sent to jail. Babul Akhtar’s brother Labu and father Wadud are on bail in this case. However, as the journalist Elias is absconding, an arrest warrant has been applied against him.
In the statement of the case, the plaintiff Banaj Kumar Majumdar mentioned that the investigation agency led by him PBI arrested him when the name of the main accused, former Superintendent of Police Babul Akhtar, came out while the country’s sensational Mitu murder case was under investigation. But Babul Akhtar and other accused who are in jail resorted to various criminal schemes and conspiracies by staying in the country and abroad to take the investigation of the Mitu murder case in a different direction and to tarnish the image of the police and PBI.
In continuation of this, on September 3 of the same year, at the direct and indirect instigation of Babul Akhtar and other accused, journalist Elias Hossain uploaded a video on his YouTube channel with the title ‘Stri Khun Husband Jele, Khuni Peyese todonter Dayitto’.
It is further stated in the statement that through various false and baseless information, Elias Hossain has spread misleading information to destroy the image of the country and communal harmony, to defame the Bangladesh Police and PBI and especially the plaintiff (Banaj Kumar Majumdar) in the speech broadcasted in the video. Which has created a negative attitude among the common people of the country.
Refuting the various allegations of that video, Elias, through his speech, has tried to damage the image of the state and the friendly relations between Bangladesh and India, to create enmity, hatred and hatred between the Hindu-Muslim communities of the state, to destroy communal harmony and to create unrest and chaos.
It is also said that only to question the investigation and trial of the Mitu murder case, the accused number 2 of the case Md. At the direct and indirect instigation of Habibur Rahman Labu, accused No. 3 Abdul Wadud Mia and accused No. 4 Babul Akhtar, accused No. 1 Elias Hossain gave a video of false and baseless statements on Facebook-YouTube.
