Shafiqur's account 'Hack': Bangabhaban staffer arrested

After 20 hours of detention, police yesterday showed a Bangabhaban employee arrested in a case filed over the alleged hacking of Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman’s X (formerly Twitter) account.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police informed journalists the arrest of Sorware Alam, an assistant programmer at the Bangabhaban’s ICT section, at a brief press conference at the DMP’s Media Centre around 11:00pm. Sorware was picked up from Motijheel around 1:00am.

Sirajul Islam, a member of Jamaat’s Election Management Committee, filed the case against Sorware with Hatirjheel Police Station under the Cyber Security Ordinance last night.

DMP Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, head of its Detective Branch, said that the DB took permission from the President’s Office, the Secretariat and other relevant authorities before showing Sorware arrested.

Shafiqul claimed police had “sufficient” evidence linking Sorware to the incident. However, when asked, Shafiqul could not specify whether they have any proof of Sorware’s direct involvement in the alleged hacking.

Besides Shafiqul, DMP Deputy Commissioner (media) Talebur Rahman came before journalists, took a few questions and left the briefing hurriedly, saying Hatirjheel police would provide the rest of the information.

He said all devices used by Sorware were seized and will be sent for forensic examinations.

Speaking at a press conference in the evening, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair alleged repeated cyberattacks targeting top leaders were being carried out in a planned way. He claimed Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar’s social media account was also hacked on Tuesday night.

“Malware from India is being used in what appears to be a planned and large-scale conspiracy to discredit us,” he said.

The controversy began on Saturday night when a post on Shafiqur’s verified X handle claimed that women should not be in leadership positions and suggested that women working outside the is “another form of prostitution”.

The remarks triggered a political storm. BNP issued a formal protest, while Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal held rallies at several universities. In some areas, women’s groups brought out broom processions to denounce the statement.

Jamaat disowned the post immediately and filed a GD with Hatirjheel Police Station on Saturday night, claiming the account had been compromised.

During an emergency briefing at the party’s Moghbazar office on Sunday, Jamaat’s IT cell members alleged the hack was carried out using a government email -- [email protected] -- which they linked to Sorware Alam.

Bangabhaban has not issued any official statement regarding the detention of its employee or the allegations involving its official email server.

Meanwhile, Sorware’s arrest created a debate among police officers as some of them believe he was not directly involved in the incident, according to sources.

Some others said the digital footprint found so far suggests the government email account Sorware used had been hacked earlier, and that he had reported the issue to his superior. The situation caused unease among officers throughout the day and they refrained from joining the press conference at night, the sources added.