A Dhaka court has rejected bail for Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) student Shreeshanto Roy in a case filed under the Cyber Security Ordinance (CSO) for allegedly hurting religious sentiments on social media.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman delivered the order on Thursday following a hearing on Shreeshanto’s bail petition.
During the hearing, investigating officer Sub-Inspector Shahjahan Siraj requested the court to add Section 295A of the Penal Code to the charges. This section addresses deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings. The court approved this petition.
The case was filed on Wednesday by BUET security staff Afgan Hossain, accusing Shreeshanto, a student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, of posting offensive comments against Muslim women and derogatory remarks about Islam on Reddit.
Shreeshanto was produced before the court the same day and sent to jail.
According to the case statement, between 8 June and 7 September this year, posts containing obscene, offensive, and religiously provocative content targeting Muslim women and Islam were made on social media using a fake ID while Shreeshanto was residing at BUET’s Ahsanullah Hall.
Following a thorough investigation, Shreeshanto was identified as the individual behind the posts. The accused is alleged to have made offensive and hateful remarks that deeply hurt the religious sentiments of BUET students and the broader Muslim community.
