Over 100 bloggers under microscope

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Reported by: M Jahangir Alam, UNB Staff Writer
Reported on: April 05, 2013 19:30 PM
Reported in: National Dhaka, Apr 5 (UNB) – Over 100 bloggers, who are allegedly engaged in posting derogatory remarks on the internet against Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), have been under strict surveillance of different intelligence agencies.

A senior official of an intelligence agency told UNB that they have already identified over 100 such bloggers and several blogs involved in carrying out anti-Islamic write-ups.

Following strict instruction from the government, the intelligence agencies started their surveillance work to identify the blogs and bloggers, he said. “Action will be taken against the bloggers by phases,” he said preferring anonymity.

Additional Home Secretary Mainuddin Khandakar, who heads a nine-member committee formed to identify such bloggers, told reporters on March 31 that the panel has already identified 30-35 bloggers involved in posting write-ups denigrating Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) on different blogs and social cites.

He categorically said punishment would be meted out to them if they are found involved in posting contents on facebook or blogs denigrating Islam and the Prophet after investigation. “The government has already directed Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to monitor the facebook and blogs round the clock.”

However, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir on Wednesday said the committee has found the engagement of 11 bloggers in posting anti-Islamic contents on the internet. “Four of them were arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police while remaining would be arrested soon.”

The Home Ministry formed the high-profile committee on March 13 amid outcry from the country’s Alem-Ulema and Mashayekh.

Hefazat-e-Islam is scheduled to launch a long march towards Dhaka from Chittagong on Saturday demanding the arrest of ‘anti-Islamic bloggers and the atheists and the enemies of Islam’.

Plainclothes police started a crackdown against the identified bloggers and they have already arrested four of them.

A DB team early Wednesday arrested blogger Asif Mohiuddin from Segunbagicha in the city. He is now being interrogated in DB custody.

Earlier, on Monday night, the detectives arrested three bloggers –– Mashiur Rahman Biplob, 42, (online pseudonym ‘Allama Shaitan’), ex-student of Dhaka university, Russell Parvez, 36, (‘Apobak’) and Subrata Shuvo, 25, (`Lalu Kasai’)  from different areas of the city on charge of making derogatory comments against Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) through the internet. They are being also grilled under the custody of detectives.

A number of bloggers came under attacks for their derogatory comments about Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM) through the internet.

On February 15, blogger Rajib, (‘Thaba Baba’ online) was hacked to death at Polashnagar in the city’s Pallabi area.

Even blogger Asif was stabbed at Uttara on January 14. Later, DB police arrested four suspected Islamic militants from different parts of the capital on Sunday night on charge of attacking and injuring Asif.

According to official figure, there are 48 blogs and 2.5 lakh users while the number of blogger is 328 as per Anjuman-e-Al Baiyenat.

Govt now to send workers to Bahrain under G-to-G process

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Dhaka, Feb 25 (UNB) – Like Malaysia, the government will start sending workers to Bahrain under the state arrangement from March, said Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Monday.

“They (Bahrain) will recruit manpower from Bangladesh under the G-to-G (government-to-government) mechanism. Both Bangladesh and Bahrain have reached a decision in this regard. Workers will go there from the next month,” he said.

The minister was talking to reporters after a meeting with a three-member delegation of Bahrain at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban in the capital.

Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan and director general of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) Begum Shamsun Nahar, head of Bahrain delegation Ausamah Bin Abdulla Al-Absi were, among others, present.

Asked how many workers would be sent to the island country, Khandaker Mosharraf said they are yet to finalise the matter.

He, however, said about 20,000-25,000 workers from the country went to Bahrain last year and the number could reach to 70,000-80,000 this year.

About the migration cost of workers seeking jobs in the Middle East country, the minister said either the government of Bahrain or the employer bears the airfare of a worker as per the law of that country.

“For this, an intending worker will have to bear the cost for his passport, medical test and training here. Thus, the total migration cost for a worker will be between Tk 16,000 and 20,000,” he said.

Justifying their move to send workers under the state arrangement, Mosharraf said it will reduce malpractice in the recruitment process of the workers. “We (both labour sending and receiving countries) will also be able to know the whereabouts of the workers if they are sent under the G-to-G process.”

Replying to a query, Abdulla Al-Absi, chief executive of labour market regulatory authority of Bahrain, said, “We’ve agreed to pursue the G-to-G agreement. We managed to cover a lot of grounds today.”

He, however, said they did not sign any final agreement in recruiting manpower from Bangladesh but a record of discussion.

He expressed the hope that they will start hiring workers from Bangladesh within very shortest possible time.

Earlier, the government took initiatives to send workers to Malaysia under its own arrangement with a view to putting an end to the middlemen's meddling in the recruitment process.

The government is supposed to send workers to Malaysia from early March.

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