Court Correspondent :
Former Sonagazi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Moazzem Hossain on Tuesday moved the High Court seeking bail in a case filed under the Digital Security Act. The plea was filed before the bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal. It is scheduled to be heard next week.
Advocate Ahsan Ullah and Salma Sultana stood for Moazzem while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
The former OC is accused of unlawfully interrogating Feni madrasa girl Nusrat Jahan Rafi and recording the incident on phone. A video of the incident went viral on the social media.
Supreme Court lawyer Syeddul Haque Sumon filed the case against Moazzem under the Digital Security Act on April 15.
The former OC was withdrawn and later suspended on May 10.
A tribunal ordered his arrest on May 27 after investigators found allegations brought against him to be true. He was arrested on June 16 from Shahbagh area. The next day, the Cyber Tribunal rejected his bail plea and sent him to jail.
Moazzem had summoned Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa’s Principal Sirajuddoula and Nusrat, who accused the teacher of sexually harassing her. Nusrat’s mother had filed a case with Sonagazi Police Station over her daughter’s sexual harassment. The then OC interrogated Nusrat in absence of her lawyer or any other woman and used inappropriate language.
The girl was set on fire on April 6 at an exam centre, reportedly by people loyal to Sirajuddoula. She died on April 10 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burn unit.
