National

Journalist Rana freed from jail on bail

Daily Desh Rupantor's upazila correspondent Shafiuzzaman Rana, who was given a six-month jail by a mobile court, has been released from prison on bail.

He was freed from Sherpur District Jail on Tuesday evening after the district Additional Deputy Magistrate Zebun Nahar granted him ad interim bail.

Earlier this afternoon, his lawyers appealed to the district Magistrate Abdullah Al Khair seeking to cancel his conviction and give him bail.

The magistrate accepted the plea and sent it to the court of Additional Deputy Magistrate Zebun Nahar for hearing.

Shafiuzzaman Rana, the Nokla upazila correspondent of Daily Desh Rupantor in Sherpur, was detained at the office of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) on March 5 on allegations of creating chaos, including misbehaving with an official and ransacking important files there, and obstructing the UNO, Sadia Ummul Banin, from performing duties.

Later, he was sentenced to six months in jail by a mobile court conducted by the Upazila Assistant Commissioner (land), Shihabul Arif.

Rana's family, however, alleged that he faced the situation to seek information about a project complying with the Right to Information Act.

Imran Hasan Rabby/SU