The telecom regulator has begun taking down the video of a sexual assault on a woman in Noakhali’s Begumganj from the internet following a High Court order.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) started executing the order immediately after seeing media reports on it though they were yet to get a copy of the court ruling, reports bdnews24.com.
BTRC Chairman Jahurul Haque said they have blocked 17 to 18 links of the video until Tuesday afternoon.
“We will continue our work because we are bound to follow Supreme Court orders,” he added.
“It’s an ongoing process. It won’t be possible to block all the links quickly,” he added.
Jahurul also said they had asked Facebook, YouTube and other social platforms to remove the video.
The BTRC chairman said they would use a tool to prevent the spread of such contents from social media after the passage of a law.
“The problem is they [social media firms] don’t always entertain our requests,” he said.
The High Court on Monday also ordered the BTRC chairman to save a copy of the video on a USB drive or compact disc.
Jahurul said the order meant to preserve evidence for use against defendants.
The law-enforcing agencies have arrested six people, including a local union council member, for their alleged involvement with the incident in Noakhali's Begumganj.
The victim has started a case against nine people for stripping her naked before beating her. The arrests came after the online video of the torture went viral, sparking public outrage on social media and street protests.
The video, posted on social media on October 4, was recorded from start to finish of the torture act and is believed to have taken place on September 2.
This is the latest incident in an escalating wave of violence against women in Bangladesh, Amnesty International said in a statement on Tuesday.