DHAKA: Bangladesh police on Wednesday charged a reporter from a leading newspaper for producing “false news” after an article on high food prices went viral, stoking fears about media freedom.

The draconian Digital Security Act under which Shamsuzzaman Shams was charged has been widely used by the government to muzzle journalists and critics, rights groups say.

Shams’s newspaper Prothom Alo said he was picked up from his home in the industrial town of Savar just outside Dhaka at around 4:00 am (2200 GMT) by plainclothes police.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed that the reporter was questioned by police for a “false story” published at the weekend. “A case has been filed against him,” the minister said, adding that Shams would be released from custody, but could be arrested again over the charges.

The reporter was charged with “smearing the image of the government with a false news” and for raising questions on the achievements of Bangladesh, under the Digital Security Act, according to a copy of the case file obtained by AFP.