Police have taken a 40-year-old police constable into custody in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj over an alleged derogatory Facebook post about Prophet Muhammad that sparked tension among local residents on Monday.

The accused, Kripesh Ray, was taken to Tahirpur Police Station around noon after local residents confined him at a nearby market, police said.

Earlier, on Sunday, Kripesh had filed a general diary (GD) at the station alleging that unidentified people had opened a fake Facebook account in his name to publish provocative content. He sought security for himself and his family.

Tahirpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Faruk Ahmed said it is too early to say whether the account was fake or one he used himself. 

“The CID or IT specialists will look into it. But an unwanted incident occurred before that could be established,” he said.

Faruk said Kripesh was being questioned and police were also examining the Facebook account with the help of IT specialists. 

According to locals, a Facebook account named “Kripesh Ray” published a post about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on Sunday. The post shared a photo card published by a media outlet and contained derogatory remarks about the Prophet, questioning the significance of keeping a beard and performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Kripesh, a police constable himself, denied his involvement with the Facebook post, saying that unidentified individuals were using his name and photographs, along with pictures of his wife and child, to publish and circulate offensive and communally provocative posts and videos through an account named “Kripash Ray”.

He said in the GD that he discovered the alleged activity while using Facebook at home around 9am on October 25, 2026. The complaint included the URL of the account.

Kripesh is the son of Sri Kshitindra Chandra Ray of Rajargaon village under Badhaghat union in the upazila. He worked as a constable at the Lamabazar Police Outpost in Sylhet city but has reportedly been absent from duty for the past six months.