C T Online Desk: A Dhaka court has sentenced Adilur Rahman Khan, chief of human rights organisation ‘Odhikar’ and its director ASM Nasir Uddin Elan, to two years of imprisonment in a case filed over spreading false and misleading information in 2013 regarding a raid on Hefajat Islam rally in Motijheel.
Judge AM Zulfikar Hayat of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal announced the verdict on Thursday.
On May 5 in 2013, thousands of Hefajat-e-Islam held a rally at Shapla Chattar in city’s Motijheel area, made arson attacks, damaged vehicles, uprooted trees, attacked a female journalist, tried to stay at night and besiege the secretariat to oust the government.
However, the law enforcement agencies removed them from the capital through a joint operation at night.
According to the case documents, Adilur and Elan published a report under the name of their HR organisation claiming deaths of 61 Hefajat men due to police action.
The report was intended to question role of law enforcers internationally.
The duo was accused of trying to create confusion among the Muslim devotees, spreading hatred against the law enforcement agencies and defaming the government, said the case docs.
DB Sub-Inspector Ashraful Islam made a general diary with Gulshan Police Station in this regard on August 10, 2013.
Police submitted charge-sheet against Adilur and Elan to Dhaka court on September 4 of that year. The trial started against them in 2014.
