The internet shutdown during the recent protests, which led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, was directed by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Md Mohiuddin Ahmed with the verbal instructions of former state minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, according to a probe report.

The report prepared by the seven-member committee formed on July 11 to investigate the internet shutdown revealed the information.

The shutdown of mobile internet from July 15-16 this year and broadband internet from July 18-23 and again on August 5 was carried out under the verbal instructions of Palak with BTRC chairman giving the order, according to a press release from the post and telecom ministry.

The report also said that the shutdown and subsequent restoration of mobile internet from July 17-28 and on August 5 were directed by the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The preliminary investigation found no connection between the fire at the data centre and the internet shutdown.

The report concluded that that former state minister misled the nation by falsely linking the data centre fire to the internet shutdown.