A journalist of a pro-opposition daily was today remanded in police custody for two days while two of his colleagues were denied bail in a case over a "false" report that Indian troops helped Bangladesh to contain violence during recent polls.
Metropolitan Magistrate SM Ashiqur Rahman granted remand for Ahmed Atique, diplomatic correspondent of Dhaka-based Bangla daily Inqilab, after police sought custody for all three journalists for five days.
The court ruled that the others - Rabiullah Rabi and Rafiq Mohammad, the news editor and deputy chief reporter of the daily, respectively - should be held temporarily in jail, not police custody, pending further legal action.
The journalists face charges of violating the Information Communication and Technology Act.
They were arrested on Thursday after the daily published the report that claimed the Bangladesh government took assistance from the Indian Army and Border Security Force to contain violence in southwestern Satkhira district, which borders India, ahead of the January 5 election.
Satkhira is a stronghold of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, a key partner of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which boycotted the polls.
The daily has apologised for publishing the report.
On Thursday, detectives raided the office of Inqilab and picked up the three journalists. They also sealed the press, plate-making and server rooms, and seized three computers.
Authorities said the report was part of propaganda against the Awami League government, with Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu saying it was "a blatant lie" published with the aim of jeopardising Bangladesh's relations with India.
The Foreign Ministry rubbished the report, saying a purported Dhaka-Delhi communication it cited was a "production of photoshop technique".
The Inqilab, known for its pro-opposition stance, has earlier been accused of publishing fabricated reports.
