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Published : 20 Jun 2026, 01:54 AM
A court in Bogura has sent the acting editor of a Dhaka-based newspaper to jail for allegedly publishing “false information” on State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam.
A team from the Bogura Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Rezanur Islam, who edits “Dainik Agrajatra Pratidin” in Gazipur’s Board Bazar on Thursday night.
Rezanur, 40, a resident of Gazipur’s Joydebpur, was sent to Bogura District Jail by a court on Friday, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ataur Rahman.
Bogura Press Club Treasurer Tanvir Alam Rimon sued him and five others in a Bogura court on Jun 15.
The other suspects are the newspaper’s Publisher and Editor Mehedi Hasan, News Editor Ashraf Ali Farooqui, Reporter Saleh Kaiser, and Bogura Correspondents Md Shams and Sabbir Hasan.
According to the case dossier, a report on Jun 4 published “false and fabricated information” on the state minister in an attempt to “tarnish his personal, social and political reputation”.
The plaintiff also cited a social media post on Jun 12, which he said spread a fabricated statement by Shahe Alam after he had addressed an event at the press club.
Rezanur is also accused of circulating misleading information online about the state minister on the occasion of the prime minister's visit on Jun 13.
Taking the complaint into cognisance, Bogura’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Mehedi Hasan ordered Sadar Police to register it as a regular case and take legal action against the suspects.
Police produced Rezanur before the court on Friday afternoon while carrying out raids to arrest the other suspects.
Meanwhile, the state minister said he had not backed the case.
In a statement on Friday night, he said misinformation about him is being circulated on social media and the press.
“In this context, everyone is requested not to file any case, issue a statement, or take any other action on their own using the name of the state minister or on his behalf,” he said.
“The state minister has not approved or instructed any such initiatives,” the statement reads, adding that Shahe Alam expressed regret over Rezanur's arrest.
All parties concerned will reach a peaceful solution to the matter through mutual discussions and legal process, and the arrestee will be released soon, it adds.
