Dhaka: A Dhaka court on Tuesday placed three people including book publisher Shamsuzzoha Manik on police custody for days involving books that allegedly have content hurting religious feeling of Muslims.

Manik was put on a five-day police custody while his marketing executive Shamsul Alam on one day and Taslim Uddin Kajal, the owner of a printing press where the book was printed, on two-day.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Amirul Islam Chowdhury passed the order after police produced them before the court seeking a seven day-remand for each after their arrest on Monday in separate raids.

At a press briefing at Shahbagh Police station on Tuesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) deputy commissioner (Ramna zone) Abdul Baten said a police team arrested Manik and Alam from the book stall of 'Badwip Prokashan' at Amar Ekushey Book Fair and Kajal from Kataban area on Monday night.  

They were arrested as some elements hurting the sentiment of Muslims were found in books published by 'Badwip Publications'.

Police also seized a total of more 75 books from Katabon and Nilkhet areas in separate drives, he said.

Meanwhile, Shahbagh Police Station sub-inspector Masud Rana filed the case against them with the police station under Information Commutation and Technology (ICT) Act in the morning.

Police on Monday seized six books of the publishing company and shut down their stall in the book fair.

A small hardline Islamist group called Khelafat Andolon (Caliphate Movement) warned on Sunday that it would storm the month-long book fair unless Manik was arrested within 24 hours.

There was no comment from Ba-dwip, but the head of state-run Bangla Academy which holds the book fair every year supported the arrest.

‘We've asked publishers not to showcase such controversial books in the fair stalls which would hurt people's religious sentiments. It was an unforgivable crime,’ academy director general Shamsuzzaman Khan told AFP.

Some publishers and secular authors last year fled the country in fear of attack over their work. Others are too scared to speak out against what critics say is an erosion of freedom of speech and the rise of religious extremism.

Last year police shut a stall at the fair of another publisher, Rodela, following similar complaints on a book about the life of the Prophet Mohammed.