Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court on Wednesday rejected a bail petition of photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
Judge of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka, Dhiman Chandra Mondol, passed the order after holding a virtual hearing on a bail petition submitted by Kajol’s lawyer.
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, who took part in the hearing on behalf of the journalist through video conferencing, confirmed the news. The lawyer said in his submission that his client Kajol has been in jail since his arrest on May 3. Moreover, the charges brought against Kajol were false, fabricated and concocted. He appealed to the court to grant his client bail. On the other hand, the prosecution opposed it, saying that the accused had committed offences by posting derogatory remarks about a lawmaker and the bail petition should be rejected.
After hearing both sides, the virtual court rejected the bail petition. Earlier on Tuesday, Kajol was shown arrested in the case. Saifuzzaman Shikhor, a ruling party lawmaker from Magura-1, filed the case against Kajol with Sher-E-Bangla Nagar Police Station on March 9.
Two more cases were also filed against Kajol under the same act with Hazaribagh and Kamrangirchar police stations on March 10 and 11 respectively.
Fifty-three days into his disappearance, Kajol was found by Border Guard Bangladesh in Benapole on May 3.
He was then arrested, initially on charges of trespassing, but was granted bail after being produced before a Jashore court. Later in the evening, he was shown arrest under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after police informed the court that more cases against Kajol were now pending with different police stations in the capital. The court then sent him to Jashore jail.
