Facebook post against minister: Stone trader released to BNP leaders who handed him to police
Trader alleges police examined his phone, made him sign blank paper.
A stone trader in Sylhet's Companiganj, who was handed over to police by two local BNP leaders over a Facebook post criticising a minister, was released into the custody of the same leaders after around 12 hours of questioning.
Zubayer Ahmed was released around midnight on Tuesday (13 October) into the custody of Companiganj upazila BNP Secretary Ali Akbar and Senior Vice-President Shawkat Ali Babul, who had earlier handed him over to police.
The release came amid criticism over the incident.
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Companiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Usman Gani confirmed the release, saying Zubayer had been brought to the station for questioning over his Facebook post.
"We questioned him to determine whether he had written the post himself or someone else had done so and whether it violated any law. After checking everything, we released him into the custody of the BNP leaders," he said.
Asked why Zubayer was released into the custody of the two BNP leaders, the OC said they were the ones who had handed him over to police.
However, when asked whether the questioning had established any offence, the OC did not specify one, saying Zubayer had been released after verification.
Speaking to The Business Standard, Shawkat Ali Babul said Zubayer had not been arrested. Police wanted to verify whether he wrote the Facebook post himself or someone else used his account, he said.
Zubayer, however, alleged that police kept him in a locked room, examined his phone and Facebook activity, and made him sign a blank sheet of paper before releasing him.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ali Akbar and Babul called Zubayer to the police station over the Facebook post, where he was handed over to police for questioning. Police initially described his arrival at the station as a surrender.
Zubayer, a stone trader from Kalabari village, had posted a photograph of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury on Facebook on Saturday, demanding the reopening of stone quarries.
"Everything was supposed to return to normal on the 13th after the election on the 12th. But nothing has improved. The minister has made our lives increasingly difficult," he wrote.
The Facebook post was no longer available after his detention. No case had been filed against Zubayer.
