Woman sues actor-director Gazi Rakayet for sending obscene messages on Facebook

A woman has brought charges against actor-director Gazi Rakayet of making an indecent proposal to her through the Facebook Messenger.

The woman, a housewife, brought charges under Pornography Control Act against Rakayet in the case she started at Shyampur Police Station on Thursday night.

Sub-Inspector Mahbub Alam told bdnews24.com on Friday he has been tasked with investigating the allegation, but has not started working on the case.

In the case, the alleged victim said she received ‘obscene, unethical, suggestive and sexually stimulant’ messages that run counter to ‘religious sentiments’ from the ID ‘Gazi Rakayet Tuku’ on Feb 27.

She alleged the messages have caused her distress and social humiliation. 

The housewife had first posted a screenshot of the conversation in a Closed Group on Facebook.

Gazi Rakayet

Gazi Rakayet said in a Facebook post on Mar 6 his two Facebook accounts had been hacked.

When an activist, Aparajita Sangita, shared the screenshot publicly, Rakayet claimed to a media outlet that some of the students who had his Facebook account password might have been behind the conversation.

Rakayet is president of TV drama makers’ organisation Directors Guild. He is also a member of TV programme producers and artists’ associations.

The three organisations started an investigation into the issue on Mar 10.

Sangita later removed the post following the organisations’ assurance of investigating the issue.

On Mar 12, ‘cyber expert’ Tanvir Hassan Zoha, on behalf of the three organisations, said in a live video message on Facebook that Rakayet’s account had been ‘hacked from Singapore’.

After four more days, Rakayet started a case at Adabor Police Station against Sangita under Section 57 of the ICT Act, which criminalises ‘publication of fake, obscene or defaming information in electronic form’.

The alleged victim said in her case that the case by Rakayet was an attempt to conceal the accusation against him. 

“He is pressuring my well-wishers and me to withdraw the charges,” she said.

She said she contacted police’s Cyber Security and Crime Division on Mar 13 and filed a general diary at Shyampur Police Station on Mar 17 over the issue.

She also alleged Rakayet and the three organisations were ‘threatening her and Sangita in the name of investigation’.

Rakayet declined commenting on the issue when bdnews24.com contacted him on Friday night.

“I don’t know about the case yet. Police will investigate it now. I don’t want to comment as it will be difficult for me to speak now,” he said.

SA Haque Alik, the general secretary of the Directors Guild, said, “Our cyber expert investigated the issue and found Gazi Rakayet’s ID was hacked from Singapore. We know that Gazi Rakayet has never been to Singapore. Now as a case has been started, police will investigate it.”

He also said they would take organisational action against Rakayet if he were found guilty.

Rights activists have demonstrated demanding the withdrawal of the case against Sangita, the whistleblower of the issue.

At a rally in Shahbagh on Wednesday, they threatened to lay siege to Rakayet’s home if the case was not withdrawn within Mar 31.