Beas Basu, a longtime friend of Asad Noor, has urged people to stop discussing their past relationship and private lives, clarifying that they have had no contact since 2022.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (11 November), the West Bengal resident reflected on their friendship, emotional attachment and eventual separation, saying their association should no longer be a subject of public speculation.
Basu said she became friends with Asad in 2016 and met him in 2017. However, personal differences brought an end to their friendship within days.
On 25 December that year, Asad was arrested in Bangladesh under the blasphemy law. He called her from the airport before being taken into custody and later sent her handwritten letters from prison.
Basu said she travelled to Bangladesh out of humanitarian concern and tried to secure his release. When he was arrested again shortly after being freed, she returned to help him.
She made several such trips before Asad was eventually released and travelled to Kolkata, where he was later jailed again following what Basu described as his own wrong decisions.
She said their six-year association developed into an emotional attachment. During that period, Asad spent around one and a half to two years in prisons in Bangladesh and India, while much of the remaining time coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Basu clarified that they were never married and did not live together. They shared friendship and regular communication, although she acknowledged becoming emotionally involved and dependent on him.
According to Basu, disagreements over personal matters led to a complete break in 2022. They have not communicated since.
Calling for an end to discussions about their past, she said friendships and romantic relationships naturally begin and end, and treating such experiences as unusual for years reflects an unhealthy mindset.
She also criticised continued speculation about who her former partner was, why the relationship ended and whether someone was a past or present partner.
Basu asked people not to embarrass her with questions about her private life, saying she was happy and moving forward on her own terms. She added that animals have always held greater importance in her life than people.
At the end of her post, Basu wished Asad Noor happiness, success and a fulfilling life.
