Youth Held for Threatening Student, Leaking Phone Number Online

A young man has been handed over to police on charges of threatening a female student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Sylhet over the phone and circulating her mobile number on social media. The accused, Ashraful Islam (25), is an employee at a printing and photocopy shop.

The accused was brought to the university’s Proctor Office for questioning at around 10:00 pm on Tuesday, 28 April. After preliminary verification found the allegations to be true, the proctorial body handed him over to the police. Ashraful’s home is in Zakiganj upazila of Sylhet.

According to sources from the Proctor Office, the student, and the police, on 26 April the victim went to a shop located at Haque Mansion in Madina Market in the city to print her semester presentation paper. She ordered typing and printing services at a rate of Tk 30 per page. After the work was completed, an argument broke out when the shop employee demanded additional money. At one stage, the student paid Tk 500 and left the shop.

Later, the employee called her and demanded more money. When she refused, he threatened her, saying he would “deal with her” if she came to the Madina Market area. It is also alleged that the employee shared the victim’s mobile number on WhatsApp and in various inappropriate Facebook groups. As a result, over the past two days, the victim received calls and messages from unknown individuals across the country, subjecting her to harassment with offensive remarks and immoral propositions.

Following the incident, the victim filed a General Diary (GD) at Jalalabad Police Station. Acting on the GD, Sub-Inspector Sagar conducted a raid in the Madina Market area and detained the accused, bringing him to the university’s Proctor Office.

Assistant Proctor of the university, Md. Sadmim Hasan Sifat, said the accused confessed during preliminary questioning. He has therefore been handed over to the police. Preparations are underway to file a formal case on Wednesday (29 April) from the university administration.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jalalabad Police Station, Shamsul Habib, said a person has been taken into police custody on charges of harassing a female student over the phone and spreading her number on social media. Further legal action will be taken in accordance with the law once the university files a case on Wednesday.

DBTech/SI/EK/OR