Dhaka Metropolitan Court has placed content creator Touhid Afridi on a five-day police remand in connection with a murder case registered at Jatrabari Police Station, linked to anti-discrimination protests.
The order was issued on Monday by Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque following a hearing on the request of the investigation officer.
During the hearing, CID Inspector Md. Erfan Khan, the investigating officer, requested a seven-day remand for Afridi.
After consideration, the court approved a five-day remand, according to the public prosecutor’s lawyer Muhammad Shamsuddoha Sumon. Afridi was taken into custody at 2:25 PM and produced before the court.
Afridi, son of Nasir Uddin Sathi, Chairman and Managing Director of private television channel My TV, was arrested late Sunday night by a CID team in Barisal.
Kotwali Model Police Station OC Mizanur Rahman stated that Afridi was apprehended from a building near a diagnostic lab in Bangla Bazar and subsequently brought to Dhaka.
The remand application alleges that Afridi, “acting on behalf of authoritarian interests, incited celebrities and other content creators to disrupt the anti-discrimination student-led movement. Those who expressed dissent were subjected to threats and intimidation.”
The investigation further revealed that Afridi, as a prominent content creator on YouTube and social media and a director at My TV, actively opposed the student-led movement against discrimination while benefiting from previous government privileges.
He allegedly used live broadcasts and other media platforms to issue provocative statements and propaganda against the movement, supporting opposition to the protesters both directly and indirectly.
The application claims that Afridi’s inflammatory actions inspired local Awami League-affiliated activists, political leaders, and law enforcement personnel, which led to the fatal shooting of Asadul Haque Babu.
It also states that as a director of My TV, Afridi leveraged his influential position to engage in what is described as “yellow journalism,” advancing politically motivated and violent activities that necessitate his remand for detailed interrogation to uncover the full circumstances and identify unknown suspects.
Earlier, Afridi’s father, Nasir Uddin Sathi, was arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch from Gulshan. Following a five-day remand, he was sent to prison on Saturday.
