Jamaat-Shibir online leaders are spreading propaganda over the death of top brass war criminal and Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi.
They are using social media platforms from home and abroad for spreading rumours terming the life-term convict war criminal ‘innocent’.
The ultra-right online activists are also threatening to create anarchy over the death of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, who was infamous for his heinous crimes against humanity during the liberation war of 1971 against the Pakistani occupied forces.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested two individuals, including a woman, for issuing death threats to a physician of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) who treated the war crimes convict and Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi right before his death.
Tafsirul Islam, 23, was arrested from Jhenaidah’s Maheshpur by the RAB.
Meanwhile, the CTTC arrested a woman in a separate raid from Dhaka’s Uttara in connection with the same offence.
Deputy Commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Faruk Hossain said, the arrestee was identified as Hafiza Mahbuba Brishty (32).
According to RAB, Tafsirul Islam is a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Islamist party.
Tafsirul was in his second year of undergraduate studies at a college in Jhenaidah’s Moheshpur, according to RAB spokesman Commander Khandaker Al Moin
“He has been an active member of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir since his school life. He is the admin of two Facebook groups named 'Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir Dwariapur, Moheshpur' and 'Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir Dwariapur, Moheshpur'."
Prof SM Mustafa Zaman of the cardiology department was in the team of expert doctors overseeing Sayedee’s treatment. He filed a general diary with Dhanmondi Police Station on Tuesday night, complaining of receiving death threats.
A joint team of the intelligence wing of the RAB headquarters, RAB-2 and 6 raided the Moheshpur area of Jhenaidah on Wednesday night and arrested 23-year-old Tafsirul.
Moin spoke about the suspect at a press conference at RAB's Karwan Bazar media centre on Thursday.
Tafsirul is skilled in the use of IT, he said. He earned Tk 10,000-12,000 a month by doing online email marketing. He also conducted publicity campaigns for Shibir on Facebook.
Tafsirul's father Rafiqul Islam Rafi is also an active Jamaat activist. In 2013-14, his name came up in several cases of sabotage in Moheshpur, and he was arrested and sent to jail.
Tafsirul uncovered the mobile number of Dr Zaman and threatened to kill him on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. He did this out of 'party and political ideology, personal anger and outrage' centred on the death of Jamaat leader Sayedee, Moin said.
After Tafsirul had sent the threatening message, he deleted it from WhatsApp, but a screenshot of the message was found in his mobile phone.
“When Sayedee was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, the expert team followed international practices and provided medical care with utmost sincerity. The family of Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee also expressed satisfaction over his treatment,” said Moin.
"But some circles, out of self-interest, have been spreading misinformation through various media, including social media, to denigrate the medical community and create unrest in the country."
The RAB official warned that those who engage in such activities will be find out and legal action will be taken against them.
Earlier, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of police arrested a 32-year-old woman named Hafiza Mahbuba Brishti from Dhaka’s Uttara over the same incident.
In a latest development, Dr Mustafa Zaman filed a case on Thursday under the Digital Security Act with Dhanmondi police station.
Both Tafseerul Islam and Hafiza Mahbooba Brishty were accused.
Dhanmondi Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Shahjahan said that the doctor filed a case under the Digital Security Act. We sent the two accused persons to the court.