Shariatpur man gets bail day after being jailed over Facebook post using Lalon Fakir lyrics

A Shariatpur businessman was granted bail by a local court after he was jailed following a Facebook post he made using Lalon Shah's lyrics, which "hurt religious sentiments".

Speaking to The Business Standard, Shariatpur Superintendent of Police Mahbubul Alam said the man, 40, posted two lyrics of a Lalon Shah song.

The post created an uproar in the local Muslim community, who began sharing it. A crowd soon gathered at the said man's house. Locals then informed the police, who went to the spot and brought him to the police station.

Since then, people from the local Muslim community started posting on their social media with hurtful sentiments and locals started gathering at his house that very night. Local residents informed the police. To deal with the situation, the person was brought to the local station.

He was kept in the station for a day and later shown arrested under section 54, which allows a police officer to conduct an arrest without a warrant against whom a reasonable suspicion exists of them having been concerned in a cognisable offence.

He was then produced before the court and secured bail.

"To avoid any kind of chaos, we arrested the person and brought him to the police station and later he was sent to jail through the court under Section 54," SP Alam said.

"There is still anger among people in the area. Policemen are keeping vigil to prevent any untoward situation," he said.

When contacted, the arrestee's family said they didn't think there would be such a fuss over a post.

On the condition of anonymity, one family member expressed worry. "Lalon Shah wrote this song and it has been on people's lips for ages. He posted two lines of that song. We did not imagine there would be such a fuss."