London-based TV channel doctors year-old picture of a prisoner to claim torture on Tarique
Look at the pictures below and you will know the work of some master manipulators.
One of the pictures was published by The Daily Star about a year ago, depicting how a person was hung by the wrists and tortured by police in Bogra. The same picture was picked by a London-based television channel, cropped and then passed on as Tarique Rahman being tortured on remand.
The channel, Bangla TV, in its bid to muster public sympathy for Tarique, senior joint secretary general of BNP, probably thought the distant similarity between the tortured man’s appearance with Tarique’s could fool the audience.
The photograph taken by The Daily Star staff correspondent in Bogra on January 26 last year was of Ratan Kumar who was picked up by Bogra police on January 25 on an allegation of stealing and hung from the ceiling in the duty officer’s room at Bogra Sadar Police Station.
Dainik Dinkal, a Bangla newspaper known as a mouthpiece of BNP, also published the photo yesterday, referring to the news item of Bangla TV.
Following publication of the photo, an investigation was conducted and officer-in-charge Shamsul Haque, sub-inspectors (SI) Monjur Rahman, Shariful Islam and Abdul Karim and Constable Nurul Islam of the police station were suspended.
Ratan, a resident of Dalpatti in Bogra town, was a suspected heroin peddler and a two-tola gold necklace was found from him, police had told journalists later.
The photograph has already created confusion among people across the world.
According to News World, a New York-based news agency, Bangla TV posted the news on its website with video clips as an exclusive item on Monday.
Part of the programme was uploaded on the popular website YouTube, which has been accessed by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.
"The news had become a hot cake for all as soon as the news spread in the United States," News World reported.
The Dainik Dinkal also gave the news headlined "Video on tortures on Tarique Rahman during remand is published" lead treatment yesterday.
This video and photograph and statements of Tarique Rahman in the court on January 9 clearly prove that Tarique was tortured during remand, the newspaper report claimed.
The government strongly protested the Dinkal report and photograph, terming it baseless and imaginary and urged all concerned to refrain from publishing such reports without crosschecking.
Home Secretary Abdul Karim said the person in the picture published in the newspaper is actually Ratan, who is accused of stealing, but Dainik Dinkal portrayed Ratan as BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman.
"It goes against the principle of journalism," Karim told reporters at a press briefing at the ministry. "This has not only tarnished the image of the government, but also the country internationally. As a leader of a political party, Tarique Rahman’s image has also been stained," he added.
Asked if the government will take any legal action against Dinkal, Karim said, "We will see what we can do. The decision will be taken in due time."
Asked if the government will investigate Tarique’s claim that he was tortured during remand, he said, "We will do so only if the court asks us to look into the matter."
News courtesy daily star | Link posted by Anim Anamika
