2 teen prisoners take HSC exams in jail

Two college students are appearing in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, which started from Thursday, under Chittagong Education Board in Chittagong Central Jail.

The HSC examinees – Kazi Mahmudur Rahman Raihan Rahi, 18, and Ullash Das, 18, were arrested under the much-debated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act.

Deputy Jailer of Chittagong Central Jail Jahidul Islam told bdnews24.com that as many as 10 prisoners, including Rahi and Ullash, were sitting for the HSC exams in the jail.

The eight others are accused in several cases filed over the incidents of vandalism and crude bomb explosions.

রায়হান রাহীকে পেটানোর চিত্র। নিজেকে হামলাকারী হিসেবে স্বীকার করে ফেইসবুকে এই ছবি তুলেছেন একজন।

Rahi and Ullash were arrested from Chawkbazar area of the port city of Chittagong on March 30.

Police charged them of hurting religious sentiment and sent the duo to prison the following day.

Police in Chittagong have reportedly detained two college students at the ‘instigation’ of a blog activist who has allegedly advocated militancy in the past.

A group of online activists, who advocate secularism, claimed that the police arrested the teenagers at the instigation of Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a blog activist who is said to have advocated militancy in the past, and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student front of Jamaat-e-Islami.

The online activists also accused the police of always turning a blind eye to Farabi’s numerous threats to kill people.

Rahi’s family says Shibir activists had handed the Chittagong College student over to police as he had refused to join the organisation. Chittagong is a stronghold of the Jamaat affiliate.

According to online activists, Farabi had written a blog post criticising another post by Dr Abhijit Roy, founder of the blog ‘Muktomona’. Many had termed Abhijit ‘atheist’ while commenting on Farabi’s post.

Commenting on his post, the writer himself wrote, “Abhijit Roy lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. He will be murdered when he comes back.”

Rahi commented on the post on Feb 10 and strongly argued with Farabi over Abhijit Roy’s blog, ‘atheism’, and religion.

After the arrest of the two teenagers, Farabi in his Facebook post said that the police attested them for commenting on his previous blog post.

Ganajagaran Mancha activist and blogger Rajib was killed on Feb 15 last year in the early days of the movement, which was launched to demand highest punishment for all war criminals.

Farabi later wrote on his Facebook status: “The cleric who will conduct the funeral prayer for Thaba Baba will be killed.”