Dhaka, Feb 4 (.) The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has detained a Bangabhaban official for the alleged hacking of the X account of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, which led to a controversy in the run-up to nationwide polls.
The detainee, identified as Mohammad Sarwar-e-Alam, an assistant programmer at the President’s Office in Bangabhaban, was detained late night on Feb 3, from a government quarter adjacent to the Rajarbagh Police Lines Auditorium and taken to the DB office for questioning. The allegations are that Jamaat Amir Shafiqur Rahman’s device and account credentials were accessed without authorisation and used to publish controversial content.
“He has been brought to the DB office for questioning. Further action will be decided after interrogation,” he said.
DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam confirmed the detention.
The Ameer faced a storm after a post circulated from his verified X page on Saturday used derogatory message against women. It read: “We believe that when women are taken out of their homes in the name of modernity, they face exploitation, moral degradation and insecurity. This is nothing else; it is another form of prostitution.”
The post from the Jamaat Ameer’s X handle, especially the bit likening working women to prostitutes drew sharp condemnation from political activists, civil society groups, and student organisations, many of whom staged demonstrations demanding a public apology.
The rival BNP influencers said the Jamaat Ameer grossly insulted working women. Many ordinary Facebook users also slammed him, while student bodies in major cities erupted in frenzy, demanding an apology from the Jamaat, though the latter repeatedly denied making such a post.
The hardline Islamist party had repeatedly claimed that its account had been hacked since the start of February, alleging that such cyberattacks had been taking place often on the verified social media accounts of its most prominent leaders.
As part of the probe, DB officers raided the government quarter near Rajarbagh as they sought to identify those involved in the alleged cyber intrusion.
After news of the detention broke, Rahman wrote on his verified Facebook page that law enforcement had apprehended the individual allegedly involved in hacking his X account.
“I hope justice will now be served. Such legal action is essential if cybercrime is to be controlled and elections are to be conducted fairly,” he said, adding that accountability would deter similar incidents in the future.
Following the detention, Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman posted on his verified Facebook profile: “The individual involved in hacking my verified X (Twitter) account has been detained by law enforcement.”
. . PRS