Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
Today, a Dhaka court ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to conduct additional investigation into the case brought under the Official Secrets Act against senior journalist Rozina Islam of Prothom Alo.
After receiving a no-confidence petition from Shibbir Ahmed, the complainant in the case and deputy secretary of the health ministry, asking for further inquiry, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain issued the ruling.
Even if there are specific claims against the accused, the complainant claimed in the petition that the prior investigation officer did not thoroughly investigate the issue. Therefore, more research is required, the petition said.
General Recording Officer Md. Nizam Uddin Fakir stated that Rozina, who is currently out on bail, appeared in court today.
On July 4 of last year, Investigation Officer Morshed Hossain Khan, a Detective Branch police inspector, filed the final report to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka, pleading for the dismissal of Rozina’s charges.
No proof was discovered against Rozina, according to the investigator’s report, and the case involved a factual mistake. During the Covid-19 outbreak, Rozina, a special correspondent for the Bangla daily, authored several in-depth investigations on corruption in the healthcare industry.
Deputy Secretary Shibbir Ahmed Osmani reported her to Shahbagh Police Station on May 17, 2021, on suspicion of stealing and photographing “extremely sensitive” official materials.
Before being turned over to the police that day, she was imprisoned in the health ministry at the Secretariat for more than five hours. She was granted bail and was let out of jail on May 23, 2021.
