A female business owner in Mymensingh's Bhaluka upazila was arrested and sent to jail by a court on Monday, a day after she was besieged by local BNP leaders and activists for expressing frustration against the government during a Facebook live broadcast.
The arrested woman, 30-year-old Sathi Akhter, owns a beauty parlor named 'Sathi Beauty Parlor' located in the Khadija Palace Market of Bhaluka upazila. She is the daughter of local resident Amzad Ali.
On Sunday around 2:00 PM, Sathi Akhter went live on Facebook twice from an account named 'Sathi Makeover'. In the two videos, measuring 5 minutes 22 seconds and 8 minutes 8 seconds respectively, she was seen expressing deep anger over recurring thefts at her business establishment. During the broadcast, she remarked, "By voting for the BNP government, I have become a victim today."
In the viral live videos, Sathi stated that she has been running her business for nearly 14 years, but has faced severe financial losses due to a series of thefts this year. Last month, air conditioner copper wires were stolen from one of her shops. On Sunday, she discovered that miscreants had severed the electrical wires of two of her showrooms and the AC wires of another. Wires from several neighboring shops were also stolen. At one point in the broadcast, she mentioned voting for the BNP and expressed regret over her decision.
As the video spread across social media, local BNP leaders and activists surrounded her business establishment and demanded justice. Ibrahim Khalil, a member of the convener committee of the Bhaluka upazila Swechchhasebak Dal, was present at the scene. He told Chitra Post that local party activists were angered by her derogatory remarks against the BNP and sought to resist her. Upon receiving the news, they went to the scene and brought the situation under control before police intervened and took her into custody.
