RAB arrests cartoonist Kishore, writer Mushtaq Ahmed in digital security case

The Rapid Action Battalion or RAB has arrested cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed on charges of propagating disinformation against the government on social media in a case under the Digital Security Act.

The elite police unit apprehended Kishore from Kakrail while Mushtaq was arrested from his home in Lalmatia on Tuesday. They were subsequently placed in the custody of Ramna police.

The case was started by Deputy Assistant Director Zahirul Islam of RAB-3 and implicates 11 people, said Ramna Police OC Monirul Islam.

The arrestees were later sent to jail on Wednesday but police have not sought their remand.

“They both spread false information against the government and its relief programmes on social media. They also made indecent remarks about Bangabandhu. We are trying to arrest the others named in the case as well,” RAB-3 Company Commander Abu Zafar Mohammed Rahmatullah told bdnews24.com.

The accused were not produced before court as the police did not seek to remand them, court police SI Pranay Kumar Sarkar said.

SI Jamshedul Islam, who is investigating the case, filed a petition seeking orders to send them to jail.

Kishore posted cartoons and posters on his Facebook account “Ami Kishore” criticising the government’s response to the coronavirus situation while Mushtaq shared several of them on his Facebook account, Jamshedul said.

Lawyers for the duo appealed for their bail saying they uploaded some posts with constructive criticism, not to propagate disinformation.

Judge Mahmuda Begum ordered the duo into jail after the hearing, said Zafar Hossain, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.