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| Bangladesh |
| Fanatics used fake facebook page to run rampage in Ramu |
| 2012-10-14 |
| It was all faked. The facebook page with an anti-Islam picture that provoked the September 29 rampage against the Buddhist community in Ramu was photoshopped. Somebody or a group had taken a screenshot of Uttam Kumar Barua's facebook profile page, cut out the address of anti-Islam website "Insult allah" and pasted it on the address bar visible in the image. Once the fabrication was done, it looked like "Insult allah" has shared the anti-Islam image with Uttam and 26 others. The Daily Star showed the screenshot to IT and graphics experts. The paper has become sure that it was a manipulation done to frame Uttam, who is a local Buddhist, and wreak mayhem that left 12 Buddhist temples burned to ashes and dozens of houses damaged. A very innocent story was also cooked up about how Uttam's so-called facebook page came to public knowledge. Omar Faruk, a youth of Ramu, claimed his friend Abdul Moktadir alias Alif, student of a private polytechnic institute in Chittagong, came to his mobile repairing shop in the evening of September 29. According to Faruk, his friend signed in to his facebook account and made a scene finding Uttam's profile page bearing the anti-Islam photo. Moktadir and Faruk claimed they had taken screenshots of the "profile page belonging to Uttam". The fabrication of screenshot could be the first part of the plan behind the mayhem and bringing rioters from outside Ramu the second part. Why the plotters chose Uttam's profile is not clear yet. Uttam, an underprivileged assistant deed writer, has been on the run along with his wife and child since the night of the incident. One thing is evident in the screenshot that someone called "Abdul Muktadir" had entered Uttam's profile though he was not a facebook friend. Uttam's profile was not restricted. The facebook account of "Abdul Muktadir" is not accessible anymore. But Faruk's friend who came to the shop in September 29 evening is registered at Chittagong Polytechnic Institute as Abdul Moktadir. He was placed in long-term storage Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! by police on October 9. "My son is a very bright student. He got stipend when he was in school. He has hearing problem but his memory is very sharp," said his mother Sajeda Begum at his house at Fakirabazar on October 6. She refused to help The Daily Star meet his son Moktadir and repeatedly requested this correspondent to drop the idea of writing about the matter. "He can fix mobile phone problems and he has very good computer knowledge as he studies computer engineering in Chittagong," she said. Talking to this correspondent on October 3, Faruk expressed annoyance as his help was sought to reach Moktadir. He dropped out after class-IV, but he is skilled at repairing computers and mobile phones, he said. Interestingly, his facebook account claims he studied at Ramu High School and Cox's Bazar Govt Collage. He set up a shop three to four years ago at Fakirabazar in Ramu. Locally known as "Faruk's computer shop", it is close to Moktadir's house. Faruk denied link with any organization or political party. Sajeda claimed the same about his son Moktadir. Moktadir admitted that he was involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... when he was a student of class IX and X in 2008-09 at Ramu Khizari Adarsha High School, according to a police official. Moktadir's mother also claimed nobody among their close relatives has any involvement in politics. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... one of her brothers-in-law is Naikhangchhari upazila chairman of in Bandarban. His name is Tofail Ahmed, who doesn't hold any official post but locally everyone knows him as a Jamaat leader. Tofail denied his involvement with Jamaat and said he was in Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the party, when he was student of Chittagong University. Surprisingly, Sajeda Begum, while giving names and brief profile of her close relatives to this news hound, mentioned the brother-in-law as Ali Ahmed. But when her brother said it is Tofail Ahmed, she looked embarrassed but explained nothing. |
| Posted by:Fred |