Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb has rejected allegations linking him to the questioning of Online Editor of the Daily Bhorer Kagoj Mizanur Rahman Sohel by the Detective Branch (DB) of police.
He described the accusations as entirely baseless and motivated, according to a PID handout issued yesterday.
The DB team took journalist Mizanur Rahman Sohel to its office on last night for quizzing, the handout added.
Following the incident, several social media posts and online news portals attempted to connect Taiyeb to the matter in relation to the implementation of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system.
The matter of misinformation came to the attention of the ministry concerned.
Commenting on the issue, Taiyeb said, “We are implementing NEIR purely in the interest of maintaining state discipline and security.”
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already held meetings with aggrieved parties to address concerns regarding the control of illegal handsets, he added.
“Despite the efforts, some online news portals deliberately used Facebook posts to place blame on me”, he continued.
Addressing those responsible for the misinformation, he said, “This is undesirable. Law enforce-ment agencies perform their duties in their own way. There is no scope for my involvement in this matter. Neither the journalist concerned nor his family has made any complaint against me.”
