Urmi granted bail after surrendering in court

A Dhaka court granted bail to temporarily suspended Assistant Commissioner Tapasi Tabassum Urmi in a defamation case after she surrendered in court.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Imran Ahmed issued the bail order after a hearing on November 28, following her surrender in court at approximately 10:30am.

On October 8, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Zakir Hossain's court ordered Tapasi Tabassum Urmi, assistant commissioner of the Lalmonirhat District Commissioner's Office, to appear in court on November 28 and issued a summons for her to appear in Dhaka's CMM court on the same day.

Md. Khademul Islam, the plaintiff's lawyer, confirmed the matter.

Earlier, Abu Hanif, a senior council member and media coordinator of the People's Rights Council, filed a case against Tapasi Tabassum Urmi over her controversial remarks regarding the killing of Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, by police during the anti-discrimination student movement on July 16.

According to the case, on October 5, the accused Urmi posted a derogatory statement on Facebook, targeting not only martyr Abu Sayeed but also the government established through the student-mass movement and the head of the government, Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, despite holding a responsible position in the government.

"The chief advisor of the constitutionally illegitimate interim government said, 'The reset button has been pressed. The past has been erased. By pressing this button, he has wiped out the entire history of the country. It's that simple! The countdown for you has begun, sir,'" Urmi posted in her facebook account.

This statement undermined a constitutionally established head of government, based on the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court's reference, and instilled fear in the public by threatening to overthrow the government, the case read.

Following the incidents, a notification signed by Nilufa Yasmin, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, appointed Tapasi Tabassum Urmi, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Public Administration, without specifying the reason.