The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Home Ministry yesterday strongly protested a daily Dinkal report with photographs showing detained BNP Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman being tortured under police remand.

Dismissing the report at a press briefing, Home Secretary Mohammad Abdul Karim said, "The photographs published by the newspaper are not the photographs of Tarique Rahman."

He said the photographs were of one Ratan, a thief, who was detained at Sadar police station in Bogra district on January 25 last year.

"Those photographs were published earlier by The Daily Star on January 27 in 2007 and vernacular daily Dainik Amader Samoy on January 28 in 2007," he said, asserting that the Home Ministry, after investigation, took stern action against the police personnel, who were responsible for the incident.

He said the video clippings of those photographs were posted in some foreign Internet services, claiming those as testimony of physical and psychological torture on Tarique Rahman, while in custody.

Abdul Karim said Dainik Amader Samoy yesterday published a report titled as "Photographs of torture on Tarique Rahman versus Ratan of Bogra", while vernacular daily Dainik Bhorer Kagoj published another report titled "Mystery centring the said picture of repression on Tarique Rahman."

Both the newspapers yesterday published those photographs and proved that the Dainik Dinkal published a false report and it was based on fake picture, he said.

"A police officer was dismissed from the service, while two others were punished for the incident," the Home Secretary said, adding, "Besides, departmental proceeding is on progress against another police personal."

Terming the report and the photographs as baseless and imaginary, he said the publication of such baseless news has tarnished the image of the Government both at home and abroad, while it hurt the country's image across the globe.

Meanwhile, concerned quarters yesterday raised the question as to why the administration did not yet take any action against those responsible for tarnishing the image of the country and the Government at home and abroad.