KOLKATA (TIP): The Bangladesh government on Thursday sent a strong message to the opposition for its provocative religious campaign by arresting Mahmudur Rahman, executive editor of pro-BNP newspaper ‘Dainik Amar Desh’, and slapping charges of sedition against him.

Rahman, who was picked up from his office in Dhaka, was remanded in police custody for 13 days by a local court. Rahman is close to former premier and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Begum Khelda Zia and his publication is believed to have been backing the BNPJamat- e-Islami (JeI) coalition against the ruling Awami League.

A team of Dhaka metropolitan police swooped down on his office, booking him on charges of publishing provocative reports on sensitive religious issues, aimed at “creating unrest in the country”. His arrest was among the main demands of the Shahbag protesters who have accused him of working in league with the Jamat to support “war criminals”. He was the executive chairman for board of investment when BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power in 2001. In 2005, he became the energy advisor to the then PM Khaleda Zia.