Process followed to detain Meghna Alam was wrong: Asif Nazrul
Meghna Alam was detained under the Special Powers Act following an appeal by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on 9 April night
The process that led to the detention of former Miss Earth Bangladesh and model Meghna Alam was not correct, according to Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul.
"Sometimes, cases are submitted that are not actually politically-motivated ones. Many try to include names through various means. Officials of the law ministry and the home ministry are regularly scrutinising the matters. I want to assure you that the officials at both the ministries are working with utmost sincerity," he said at a press conference at the Secretariat today (13 March).
Regarding model Meghna's case, he said, "There are some allegations against her, and those are under investigation. However, the process of her arrest was not proper. The home ministry will take necessary steps after verification."
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On Wednesday night (9 April), Meghna Alam was detained under the Special Powers Act following an appeal by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
She was later imprisoned through the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Thursday night (10 April). She was given a 30-day detention under the Special Powers Act.
The incident of Meghna's detention without specifying clear reasons raised various discussions and criticisms.
Questions were about why she was detained under the controversial preventive detention provision of the Special Powers Act rather than being arrested through filing a case if she was involved in a crime.
Amnesty International has also expressed concern over the detention of Meghna Alam by police in plainclothes.
Against the backdrop, Additional Commissioner Rezaul Karim Mallick was removed from his position as the DMP DB chief yesterday (12 April). The office order in this regard, signed by DMP Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali, was made public today (13 April).
Right before her detention, Meghna went live on Facebook. She was seen saying that someone was taking her away. Many of her acquaintances and followers on social media expressed outrage over this incident.
However, police stated that the allegation of Meghna being kidnapped is not correct. She was detained according to the law.
Until 10pm last Friday (11 April), no clear information was provided regarding this model's detention from the government or law enforcement agencies.
A statement from the DMP mentioned crimes according to legal provisions, but there is no information about how Meghna was involved in those crimes.
