Legal notice served against Sarbamitra Chakma

A legal notice has been served on Sarbamitra Chakma over allegations of spreading defamatory remarks and propaganda on social media accusing extortion from illegal shops at Dhaka University campus.

The notice was sent by Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Najmus Shakib on behalf of Nurul Gani Sagir, vice-president of the Dhaka University unit of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti.

The matter was disclosed at a press conference held at Modhur Canteen of the university on the afternoon of January 31.

At the press conference, Nurul Gani Sagir said attempts were made to accuse him falsely of extortion following a Facebook post about illegal shops on campus on January 24. To clarify his position, he held a press conference on January 25 and gave the accuser 12 hours to present evidence supporting the allegations.

He said three to four days have passed after the deadline, but no evidence or relevant images have been presented. As the accuser failed to provide proof within the stipulated time, he decided to pursue legal action. As part of the process, a legal notice was served on Sarbamitra Chakma through his lawyer.

The notice stated that through a social media post and subsequent statements, Nurul Gani Sagir was portrayed as an extortionist, which it described as completely false, baseless and defamatory. It claimed the allegations damaged his personal, social and political reputation.

The notice also said the accused failed to present acceptable evidence supporting the allegations and instead spread misleading information with the intention of socially humiliating a student leader. It mentioned that the statements contain elements of defamation and harassment under the penal code.

The notice urged Sarbamitra Chakma to publicly withdraw the defamatory allegations, remove related posts and statements, and issue an unconditional apology within 10 hours of receiving the notice. Otherwise, Nurul Gani Sagir would be compelled to take legal action.