Two days after the post, Companiganj upazila BNP Secretary Ali Akbar and Senior Vice-President Shawkat Ali Babul called Zubayer to the police station and handed him over to the police.
TBS Report
14 October, 2026, 10:30 am
Last modified: 14 October, 2026, 10:34 am
Police have detained a stone trader in Companiganj, Sylhet, over a Facebook post criticising Minister of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Ariful Haque Chowdhury and demanding the reopening of stone quarries.
The detainee, Zubayer Ahmed, was called to Companiganj Police Station yesterday (13 October), although Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Usman Gani claimed that he had surrendered to the police.
According to local sources, Zubayer, a resident of Kalabari village in Companiganj, posted a photograph of the minister on Facebook on Saturday, expressing frustration over the continued difficulties faced by stone traders.
"Everything was supposed to return to normal on 13 October, after the election on the 12th. But nothing has been resolved. The minister has made our lives increasingly difficult," he wrote.
Two days after the post, Companiganj upazila BNP Secretary Ali Akbar and Senior Vice-President Shawkat Ali Babul called Zubayer to the police station and handed him over to the police, who subsequently detained him, according to the police.
The Facebook post was no longer available after his detention.
The two BNP leaders declined to comment, saying the matter was being handled by the police.
Speaking about the incident, OC Mohammad Usman Gani said, "A person named Zubayer Ahmed has been detained. A decision has not yet been made on the reason for his detention."
He said Zubayer had been brought to the station over the Facebook post and that Ali Akbar had brought him in to surrender.
Asked why someone would surrender to the police over a Facebook post, the OC said, "That is the question. Why would he surrender? We have brought him in for questioning. He has not yet been formally shown as arrested."
Asked why the police needed to question him over the post, the OC said they could do so in accordance with the law.
"There is an offence. We are checking whether he committed it or whether someone else used his mobile phone," he said.
As of the time of filing this report, no case had been filed against Zubayer. He remained in police custody at the station.