A journalist of private Ekushey Television covering ongoing labour unrest along Ashulia of Dhaka was sent to jail on Saturday on charge of inciting apparel workers to raise their demand for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 16,000. The reporter, Nazmul Huda, was arrested on Friday night and was prosecuted under Special Powers Act and Section 57 of the controversial Information and Communication Technology Act. He also works for Bangla daily Bangladesh Protidin, police said. Dhaka's judicial magistrate, Atikul Islam, sent the journalist to jail, pending a hearing on Tuesday. Dhaka police superintendent Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman claimed that "We have arrested a bad guy.' Police said they arrested Nazmul at Baipail area and seized his laptop, mobile phone and his car. They said the journalist intended to incite the workers by his "inaccurate reportage'. "He is accused of inciting illegal protests, holding secret meetings with seven labour leaders whom we have arrested. He was also trying to destabilise the government,' said the Dhaka police chief. Private television channel ETV and Bangla Daily Bangladesh Protidin Savar correspondent Nazmul's arrest comes after mass protests by thousands of workers, prompting closures of about 100 apparel factories across Ashulia. The workers continued their agitation at the industrial belt, demanding Tk 16,000 as monthly minimum wage. Section 57 of the ICT, which the government had promised to amend in the face of criticism, empowers a court to punish an offender by awarding a maximum of 14 years jail and with Tk one crore in fine. More than 80 such cases were reported since January 2014, according to Odhikar, a rights organisation. At least 27 people including Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders and labour leaders were arrested in different cases until Saturday. Earlier on Thursday, a leading labour leader, Moshrefa Mishu, was briefly detained.