RAB said they had taken the Bangladeshi PhD student at a South Korean University — who went missing from the Airport area before catching his flight on Wednesday — in their custody. They said Enamul Haque Mony, 31, was arrested from the Airport Railway Station area on charges of creating fake websites identical to those of different local media outlets and circulating false and “anti-government” news through them.
The perennial questions of ‘picking up’ by the law enforcers still remain unanswered. Why a crime suspect was not arrested following due process? Surely our security forces can find out the addresses of people who have broken the law and arrest them in an open manner.
Mony’s wife Nipa said her husband did not know how to create such fake sites. She on Friday claimed Mony returned to their home in Pabna on October 23 and went missing on Wednesday night while on his way to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to catch a flight to South Korea. She also claimed to have been called by an unknown person who demanded a ransom for releasing Mony, adding that she had sent the ‘kidnapper’ Tk 1 lakh.
If due process is followed the arrested person should then immediately be brought before court on charges framed by the authorities to ensure that the law is followed. Picking up people from public areas without informing their relatives is not the way.
RAB said Mony was involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir and they investigated the forgery upon receiving complaints from the authorities of a newspaper. Mony completed his Master’s from Bangladesh Agriculture University of Mymensingh and went to South Korean Kyungpook National University as a PhD researcher in 2012. During his stay in South Korea, Mony created at least 22 such fake websites, including some identical websites of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, online news portal banglatribune.com and BBC Bangla, in September and October to spread fake news.
It’s the law enforcement agencies’ duty to prevent such unlawful activities with strong hand. The flow of fake news must be stopped particularly ahead of the upcoming general election. But here, the enforcers of the law must follow the letter of the law more strictly than others. Otherwise, it would create confusion about the government’s good initiatives among the ordinary people.
