Court accepts charges against photojournalist Kajol in another DSA case

A Dhaka court on Wednesday accepted a charge-sheet against photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol in another case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) with Kamrangirchar police station.

Judge Ash Sams Joglul Hossain of the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal accepted the charge-sheet in presence of the lone accused Kajol and fixed October 20 for charge framing hearing against him in the case.

The tribunal also granted fresh bail for the accused in the case.

The sub-inspector (SI) of Detective Branch (DB) and the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case, Mohammad Rassel Mollah, submitted the charge-sheet against Kajol to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on March 14.

On March 11, Sumaiya Chowdhury Banna, member of Bangladesh Jubo Mohila League's Central Committee, filed the case against Kajol.

The charge-sheet stated that Kajol published fake news on his Facebook account regarding the arrest and alleged crimes of expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Nur Papia.

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The same tribunal on Tuesday accepted the charges against Kajol in a case filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station under the same act.

Kajol went missing on March 10 last year.

On May 3, 2020, Border Guard Bangladesh officers said they found him strolling near the Benapole border and detained him. On the same day, a Jessore court sentenced him to prison under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

He was later arrested in three cases filed under the DSA.

A lower court denied him bail for seven months until the High Court on November 24 granted him bail in one of the cases. The High Court on December 17 granted him bail in two other cases after Kajol's lawyer argued that probes had to be complete within 75 days of filing of the cases, and the investigators failed to do so.

The photojournalist walked out of jail on December 25.