Jamaat-e-Islami has yet to hand over devices sought by detectives investigating a case involving a social media post that compared women leaving their homes for work to prostitution ahead of the national election.
The post appeared on Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman’s X account, which the party later claimed had been hacked.
The post stated, “We believe that when women are pushed out of the house in the name of modernity, they face exploitation, moral degradation and insecurity. This is actually another form of prostitution.”
The Detective Branch (DB) of police says Jamaat is not cooperating with the investigation.
According to DB, investigators have sent at least three letters seeking the ameer’s mobile phone and other devices used to operate his X account. They have also obtained court permission to seize the devices for forensic examination but have received no response.
Jamaat, however, alleges that the investigating agency was negligent at the time and conducted the investigation at a snail’s pace. The party says the devices can no longer be handed over.
Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and Publicity and Media Department Head Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair said, “At that time the password of the device had to be changed immediately. At first they (the police) did not admit it. They were negligent; they worked at a snail’s pace. Now I see they are saying we are not giving the devices. But now there is no scope to give the devices.”
Asked about the future of the case, he said, “The court will decide this. Let them do whatever they think is good.”
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi disagreed with Jamaat’s position.
“In the interest of the investigation, the investigating officer must be cooperated with. This is the responsibility of both complainant and accused,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Sarwar Alam, a former assistant programmer at Bangabhaban who was named as an accused in the case filed by Jamaat, is facing mounting financial difficulties.
He has been suspended since the case was filed and is struggling to support his family on a subsistence allowance equivalent to half his basic salary, leaving him increasingly in debt.
Sarwar also faces uncertainty over his accommodation. He currently lives in government quarters but is due to go on leave preparatory to retirement (LPR) in December. He does not know whether he will be allowed to remain there afterwards, while his allowance would not cover the rent.
On the afternoon of 31 January, during campaigning for the 12 February national election, the English-language post appeared on the Jamaat ameer’s X account.
It sparked widespread criticism, with several women’s organisations staging street protests. The BNP also criticised Jamaat, accusing it of gravely insulting working women.
Jamaat subsequently claimed the account had been hacked and filed a general diary at Dhaka’s Hatirjheel police station that night.
A case was later filed against Sarwar and 15 to 20 unnamed people. The complainant was Md Sirajul Islam, a member of Jamaat’s election management committee.
Sarwar was detained on 3 February. The following day, he was shown arrested and produced in court, where he was granted bail after making a forceful statement.
However, being named as an accused led to his suspension in the final year of his career. With the investigation still incomplete, his difficulties continue.
Sarwar told TIMES, “I have to appear in court everyone to one and a half months. I have said many times to complete the investigation. I have also said that since they (Jamaat) are not letting it be verified, let them take whatever they need from me and verify it, then I would be relieved.”
None of the other unnamed accused has been identified or arrested.
Investigators seized Sarwar’s mobile phone, laptop and desktop computer, along with some devices used by his family members. All were returned about a month later.
The case is being investigated by the Cyber and Special Crime-South unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s DB.
The unit’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Hafizul Islam told TIMES, “With court permission, letters have been sent to the complainant side three times seeking devices and necessary information. But those have not yet been received. Once the devices are in hand and the forensic examination is done, it will be possible to give details on this.”
When contacted about the devices, complainant Sirajul Islam ended the call and asked for questions to be sent by message. He viewed the subsequent questions but did not respond.
