BD photographer sacked over viral photo

DHAKA: A renowned Bangladesh photographer said on Sunday he has been the victim of "unwanted cruelty" after being sacked over an image of a couple kissing that raised a social media storm in the conservative Muslim-majority country.

The Purboposhchimbd news portal said Jibon Ahmed was "not fit" to work for the company because of doubts about whether the kiss image was staged. Ahmed protested his innocence, insisted he has proof the image was spontaneous and said he has been roughed up by other photographers because of the image.

In a Facebook post, Ahmed said he had been "exposed to unwanted cruelty" due to the "powerful" photo. "I never ever believed that one click would create so many stories. Today due to this photo the social and mainstream media media are flooded with false and true stories about me," he said of the divisions.

The couple were snapped kissing in monsoon rain on the steps of the Dhaka University campus. He posted it -- with the caption "Songs of rains -- let love be free" -- on his Facebook page while the news portal also used it. The photo quickly went viral in Bangladesh.

It drew social media praise for bringing a hint of social freedom. But conservatives questioned whether the photo had breached Bangladesh’s public decency mores. Media commenters asked whether Ahmed sought the couple’s permission to publish the photo.