JnU student jailed for 5 years in DSA case filed for hurting religious sentiment
The court, however, granted her probation of one year
A Dhaka court has sentenced Tithy Sarkar, a suspended student of Jagannath University (JnU), to five years imprisonment in a Digital Security Act case filed on the allegation of making derogatory comments about religion.
Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge AM Zulfiqar Hayat delivered the verdict Monday (13 May), mentioning that the previous 21 months of her imprisonment will be deducted from the current sentence.
The court, however, granted her probation of one year, the tribunal's bench assistant Jewel Mia told reporters. During the probation, she will be permitted to reside at her home. Although, she must regularly report to a probation officer.
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According to the case statement, on 23 October 2020, some screenshots of Tithy's Facebook posts about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went viral on social media. On the same day, she filed a general diary with Pallabi police station, claiming her Facebook account was hacked.
However, several student organisations and general students of Jagannath University staged protests demanding her suspension. Abu Musa Rifat, Chhatra League leader of the same university, lodged a case against Tithy for "hurting religious sentiment" through her Facebook posts.
Later, the university authorities suspended Tithy, a Zoology department student of the 2017-18 session.
On 24 October that year, Tithy reportedly went missing on her way to the police station from her house in Pallabi in the capital's Mirpur area. Her family later lodged a complaint with the Pallabi police station.
On 31 October, the CID's cyber monitoring team saw a post being shared on social media saying Tithy Sarkar was "rescued with her hands and feet tied from the fourth floor of CID's Malibagh office".
The CID then started an investigation and arrested a person named Niranjan Baral from Bansree in the city's Rampura area on the charges of "spreading rumours."
On 11 November 2020, the CID arrested Tithy at the house of a distant relative of her husband at Panchdona in Madhavadi, Narsingdi.
On 19 May 2021, Investigation Officer Mehedi Hasan, also a sub-inspector of the CID, submitted a charge sheet in the case.
The court framed charges against Tithy on 4 November 2021
