Cox’s Bazar Police refuse Shipra Devnath to accept case under DSA

Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station has refused to record Shipra Devnath's case under the Digital Security Act-2018 for spreading propaganda against her on social media.  

Shipra, who had accompanied slain Major (retd) Sinha to Cox's Bazar to make travel documentaries, went to the police station to file the case against 150 unknown people, including Satkhira Superintendent of Police (SP) Mostafijur Rahman and SP Mizanur Rahman Shelley of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), at around 11:30 pm on Tuesday.

Md Khairuzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station, had advised them to file the case with Ramu Police Station or a special tribunal instead, said Shipra's Lawyer Mahbubul Alam Tipu. 

The lawyer said, "The OC told us that the place of the incident was not under the jurisdiction of Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station. So the case could not be filed with the police station. The OC also said if the electronics devices were lost in Ramu area, Shipra could go to Ramu Police Station and file a case there; or if the aggrieved person wants, the case could be filed with a special tribunal."

In response, Shipra told the OC that she had been living at Jaltaranga resort in the beach area since she was granted bail in a police case and the area was under Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station. That was why she had come to the police station to file the case, she explained. But still the police refused to accept the case, said Lawyer Mahbubul.

Md Khairuzzaman and OC (investigation) Masun Khan were contacted over mobile phone to get comments regarding the incident but both of them did not pick up the calls. 

Earlier, Shipra, a student of a private university, announced in a video message that she would file a case under the Digital Security Act against police officers, who posted her personal photos on Facebook.

In the video message, Shipra said, "Police took two monitors, a laptop, a desktop, a camera, lenses, three hard drives and our phones from our cottage on the night of Major Sinha's killing. There is no mention of any of them in the seizure list. I do not know how or to whom I will ask to return those things to us."

"Some police officers are responsible for stealing different photos from our personal profiles and devices and sharing those on social media. Fake Facebook ID and Instagram ID have been opened in my name. Against each of those who have made my personal life unbearable by making various videos and photo-shopped images, I promise to take appropriate action under the Digital Security Act," she further said in the message.

"There are many honest officers here. But if such murderous officers and some mentally ill policemen, who misrepresent a woman on social media, are not identified and brought under the law, the responsibility for this scandal will fall on the entire force," added Shipra.