Katakhali mayor on remand in DSA case
A Rajshahi court has placed Katakhali municipality Mayor Abbas Ali on a three-day remand in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
The Rajshahi Metropolitan Magistrate Court-2 Shankar Kumar passed the order rejecting his bail plea after police produced him before the court seeking a 10-day remand.
Earlier on 1 December, the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Abbas Ali for making derogatory comments on installing a mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the city.
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He was later sued under the Digital Security Act as three complaints on the same allegations were filed with three separate police stations.
The Rajshahi unit of Awami League also relieved him of membership in its executive committee following the controversial comments. Further, all the municipal councillors passed a no-confidence vote against his mayorship.
On 22 November, an audio clip of Abbas went viral on social media, where he was heard saying that he would not allow the installation of a mural of Bangabandhu at the Rajshahi City Gate as it would violate the Islamic Sharia law.
However, in a Facebook live streaming Friday, Abbas claimed he was a victim of a conspiracy.
The Katakhali mayor said he made some comments regarding the installation of Bangabandhu's mural after being influenced by the words of an Islamic scholar.
"But, I did not make any derogatory comment on Bangabandhu," he claimed.
