Home ›› 30 Mar 2023 ›› Front
Plainclothesmen claiming to be members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) picked up Shamsuzzaman Shams, staff correspondent of vernacular daily Prothom Alo in Savar, from his house in the Ambagan area adjacent to Jahangirnagar University early Wednesday.
Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Raju Mondal said, “Some senior officers of the CID came from Dhaka and picked up Shams from his residence around 4:00am. I don’t know the names of those officials. And also know nothing why he was picked up.”
The CID did not make any statement over the issue till the filing of this report at 8:30pm on Wednesday and his whereabouts still remained untraced.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at his office told reporters that he was only aware of filing a case against Shamsuzzman Shams.
“The law moves in its own way. Everything even the state goes according to the law. If someone is aggrieved and seeks justice, the police can take action accordingly. As far as I know, a case has been filed against him.”
Responding to a question of who filed the case, the minister said, “I am yet to receive all the reports. You are asking questions, I also know things in different ways. Something happened around it. I’m still not clear. I will be clear and tell you after getting the details.”
Shams is the younger brother of slain DMP Assistant Commissioner Md Rabiul Karim who was killed during the militants’ attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016 that left 29 people killed.
Auporbo Hasan, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon police station, said the general secretary of Ward 11 of Dhaka north city unit Juba League Syed Golam Kibria filed a case under the Digital Security Act accusing Shams of publishing fake and fabricated news on the country’s Independence Day. The police station recorded the case at 2:15am on Wednesday.
Neighbours of Shams at Ambagan around 15 people on three cars went to Shams’ house around 4:00am. They searched Shams’ living room and took his laptop, two mobile phones and a portable hard disk. After staying there for 10-15 minutes, they took Shams to Battala of Jahangirnagar University.
Restaurant waiters at Battala said a group of plainclothes people including the university’s Chief Security Officer Sudipta Shaheen, a security guard and Shams, took sehri at Noorjahan Hotel there and later went back to Shams’ house around 5:30am.
There they prepared a seizure list and took photographs of Shams and asked him to take necessary clothing with him.
Before leaving the rented house, one of them called the house owner.
Ferdous Alam, the owner of the house, told reporters that someone pressed the buzzer of the house around 4:00am. I went down to open the door. They asked me, does Shams live in this house? I said yes, and then opened the gate and let them in.”
“At that time they were a group of 6-7 people and one of them in police uniform. They asked me to call Shams. As I asked what happened, they said a case has been filed about the report made by him. I didn’t ask anything further,” he added.
Journalists working in different media outlets and students of Jahangirnagar University formed human chains on Wednesday in Savar, Ashulia and Dhamrai to protest against picking ups Shams at dead of night.
