The High Court today ordered Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove a video from social media of torturing a housewife after undressing her in Begumganj upazila of Noakhali.
The court asked the BTRC to keep a copy of the video clip as evidence and ordered it to submit the clip to the High Court through the Deputy Attorney General.
The court fixed October 29 for further hearing on these issues.
The court also ordered the formation of an inquiry committee including additional district commissioner, principal of Chowmuhani Government SA College and district social welfare officer of Noakhali.
Deputy commissioner of Noakhali has to provide all kinds of logistic support to the inquiry committee, as per the court order. The committee has to submit the report within 15 days before the High Court.
The virtual High Court bench of Justice Mujibur Rahman Miah and Justice Mohiuddin Shamim passed the order on Monday.
The High Court also issued a suo moto rule upon the government to explain why legal action should not be taken against the local administration of Begumganj upazila of Noakhali for their negligence and failure to save an innocent woman from brutal torture.
The Secretaries of Home, Public Admin, Post and Telecom, Chairman, BTRC, DC, Noakhali, UNO and OC of Begumganj have been made respondents of the rule.
Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Aminuddin, Secretary Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajol, Senior Lawyer ZI Khan Panna, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, AM Jamiul Hoque Faisal, Abdullah Al Mamun and many others lawyer took part in the hearing.
Earlier on Monday, a petition was filed with the High Court seeking order to remove the video clip from the social media of the torture incident.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Advocate Abdullah Al Mamun placed the matter before the same virtual bench.
A housewife in Noakhali's Begumganj upazila was allegedly molested by some local miscreants in Ward No. 9 of Eklashpur Union of the upazila last month and a disturbing video of the barbaric incident went viral on the internet.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media.
Five youths including Delwar, chief of the local 'Delwar Bahini' and his assistants Badal, Kalam and Abdur Rahim, allegedly molested the housewife on September 2.
Four people have been arrested in the case so far.
A team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the prime accused Badal from Kamrangirchar area around 3am on Monday and another team arrested Delwar, another suspect, from Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Narayanganj, said Lt Col Khandaker Saifur Alam, commanding officer of RAB-11.
Earlier, police arrested Rahim on Sunday afternoon and one Rahmat Ullah around 10pm the same day.
The accused stripped the housewife naked and beat her despite her crying for mercy after tying up her husband at her father’s house in the upazila.
A video of the incident came to the notice of District Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Alamgir Hossain and he directed the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Begumganj Model Police Station Harun Aur Rashid Chowdhury to take action in this regard.
nh/teb
