Injured July Fighter Victim of Cyberbullying and Severe Character Assassination for Refusing ‘July Trade’ and ‘Case Business’

Case Filed Against 10 Individuals, Including Former Coordinators Shirajum Monira and Barkatullah Fahad, and Chhatra League Activist Sabbeir Rahman Sagor

Abdur Rahim: A gunshot-wounded July uprising fighter has become a victim of cyberbullying and severe character assassination for refusing proposals of the 'July trade'—which exploits the memories of martyrs and the injured of the July mass movement—as well as unethical tenders, commissions, land grabbing, and 'case business'. On this charge, a petition case has been filed in Dhaka’s Cyber Tribunal against 10 individuals. The victim, Marufa Akter (Maya), filed the case as the plaintiff. She is a gazetted injured July fighter of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and the member secretary of the Pabna district branch of ‘Jubashakti’, an associate organization of the National Citizen's Party—NCP, who is currently under temporary suspension from the party.

Speaking directly to this reporter, Marufa Akter Maya confirmed the incident and provided a detailed account of the allegations. Maya stated that as a gazetted injured July fighter of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and a leader of the NCP, she was vocal from the very beginning about preserving the core spirit of the July movement. Following the movement, an opportunistic group in various areas, including Pabna, engaged in 'case business' and unethical financial transactions by naming nearly several hundred people in student murder cases. Marufa Maya strongly opposed and protested this 'July trade' and the malicious efforts to extort money by framing innocent people. She has also repeatedly failed in her attempts to file cases against the actual perpetrators.

According to the plaintiff's claim, angered by this opposition, the accused, led by Accused No. 1 Shirajum Monira and Accused No. 5 Barkatullah Fahad, conspired in collusion to destroy her social and political career. Initially, they tried and failed to prove Maya as a fake injured victim. Subsequently, the accused collected photos from the plaintiff’s Facebook and personal gallery and transformed them into doctored and obscene images using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Thereafter, using the plaintiff's doctored images, offensive and defamatory captions were spread on social media through various fake IDs and Facebook pages like ‘Pabna Insider News’ and ‘Hello Pabna’, presenting her as a ‘service provider’.

Marufa Maya further revealed that, hoping to find justice after the incident, she initially approached the capital’s Hatirjheel Police Station on May 3, 2026, to file an FIR. However, the police authorities did not register a direct case and advised her to file a General Diary (GD) instead. Later, following a Detective Branch (DB) investigation, she filed this petition case in the Cyber Tribunal. According to the petition, taking advantage of living in the plaintiff's house as a sublet tenant, Accused No. 1 Shirajum Monira deleted various crucial video footages and documents on her phone showing influential Awami League figures directly firing live ammunition during the movement, and stole her personal information and photos by mirroring her Gmail.

The defendants in the case are— Shirajum Monira, former coordinator and spokesperson of the Pabna District Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and currently a law student at Manarat International University; Sabbeir Rahman Sagor alias Sagor Mondol, a Chhatra League activist; Mosa. Shamima Sultana and Mahfuzur Rahman, both injured July victims and July mass uprising and liberation war affairs secretaries under the Pabna District Committee of the National Citizen's Party—NCP; MH Onik, a Shibir activist and admin of ‘Pabna Students Association’; Barkatullah Fahad, former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement who currently has law studies ongoing, former convener of the Pabna District Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, and the organizing secretary of the NCP district committee (who is also reportedly known to be formerly associated with Chhatra Shibir and currently serving as the joint member secretary of Juba Jamaat); Shaimon Shihab, a law student of Dhaka University and the husband of Accused No. 1 Shirajum Monira (who is allegedly one of the primary financial contributors behind spreading offensive pictures and videos on various social groups); Sojib Ahmed, the admin of 'Hello Pabna' Facebook group; Asraful Islam, an accused accomplice who posted on social media; and Sharmin Sultana Rekha, an accused accomplice who acted as one of the key instigators behind spreading false propaganda on social media.

To ensure that the spirit of the July mass uprising, which inspired hope among the people of Bangladesh, is not tarnished and succeeds in holding its place, our investigation remains ongoing regarding the involvement of the specific individuals accused in this serious, informative case, as well as their unethical activities. A detailed follow-up report on this matter will be published very soon.