BUET student denied bail; religious sentiment charge added

A Dhaka court has added a charge of hurting religious sentiments against Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Sreeshanto Roy under the Cyber Security Act and denied him bail.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubur Rahman passed the order on Thursday after a hearing, sending the accused to jail.

Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruki said the accused was produced before the court, where Chawkbazar Police Sub-Inspector Shahjahan Siraj, the investigation officer, requested the inclusion of Section 295(A) of the Penal Code in the case. 

The court approved the request.

As defence lawyers were not present during the hearing, the court denied the bail petition.

According to the case statement, Sreeshanto, a resident of Ahsanullah Hall at BUET, allegedly used a pseudonymous Facebook account named “Weekly Service 923” to post obscene and derogatory comments about Muslim women and Islam between June 8 and September 7 this year.

The posts reportedly contained vulgar, offensive and anti-religious remarks that hurt the religious sentiments of Muslim students and the wider community.

After tracing the identity behind the account, Md Afghan Hossain, a member of BUET’s security staff, filed a case with Chawkbazar Police Station on Wednesday under the Cyber Security Act.

MAL/SH