Sohel Taj alleges ‘stalking, harassment’

Former state minister of home affairs Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj has taken to Facebook to notify the chief advisor, home advisor, and the head of the armed forces about an incident of alleged harassment.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, Taj posted on Facebook saying that he had been followed and stopped by a member of an intelligence agency, reports bdnews24.com.

He also posted a picture of the incident and the alleged perpetrator in the post.

Taj wrote:

“For the attention of the chief advisor, the home advisor and the chief of army staff. Tonight, on my way home from work, I experienced a very worrying and mysterious incident. A motorcyclist followed me from the parliament building into the cantonment. At one point, he signalled me to stop using red and blue lights. After I stopped, I asked him to identify himself and state why he had stopped me. He said more of his people were coming and we had to wait for them. I repeated my request for his identification again and asked whether he recognised me.”

“In response, he said he knew that I was Sohel Taj. He then spoke over the phone and said that he had stopped me and informed them of my location. I asked again for his identification and wanted to know who was coming and why I had been stopped. He did not answer, but spoke on the phone again. Then he told me I could go, turned his motorcycle around and left.”

Taj claimed that he was being harassed by a member of an intelligence agency.

“From his manner and style of speaking, I am totally confident that he was a member of an intelligence agency. We had all hoped there would be an end to such harassment, but now it seems that everything is continuing in the same way. For shame.”

A STORM OF CONDEMNATION IN THE COMMENTS

The post had already racked up nearly 9,000 comments in the eight hours since it was posted. The vast majority of the comments condemned the incident.

A Facebook account with the name Maruf Kamal Khan wrote: “This is definitely harassment and deplorable. This trend must stop. But I cannot agree with the claim that ‘everything is continuing in the same way’. Your beloved party’s rule was much more horrible, demonic, and terrible. You sometimes mildly criticise fascists, but most of the time you have glorified that fascist party and its politicians. As a public figure, I think you should be more clear about your ethical and moral stances to cut through the ambiguity and lack of clarity.”

Another user with the account name Labhlu Molla Shishir said: “Brother, do not mind, but I would give you one bit of advice: swiftly call for the Awami League to unite and continue the struggle alone alongside the Awami League’s activists. If you are arrested, millions of people, including the Awami League’s leaders and activists will demand your release… you don’t have much time, your gym buddies will free you.”