News broke on Sunday afternoon (16 November) that an arrest warrant had been issued for actress Mehazabien Chowdhury and her brother Alisan Chowdhury in a case filed over an alleged breach of peace.
Judge Afroza Haque Tania of Dhaka’s Executive Magistrate Court-3 issued the order after the pair failed to appear in court on the scheduled date.
Mehazabien surrendered immediately after learning of the warrant and secured bail. The next hearing has been set for December 18.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff, Amirul Islam, claims he had a longstanding acquaintance with Mehazabien and paid Tk27 lakh to become a partner in a supposed family business.
The complaint further states that the business never materialised and that, when he requested a refund, the siblings repeatedly delayed. Amirul alleges that when he went to retrieve the money on February 11 this year, he was told to meet them again on March 16 at a restaurant in Hatirjheel, where he says he faced serious abuse and death threats from Mehazabien, Alisan and several others.
After approaching Bhatara Police Station, he was advised to file a petition with the court under Sections 107 and 117(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
When contacted by The TIMES of Bangladesh, Mehazabien issued a written statement via WhatsApp. She said she had only become aware of the case after media reports emerged and immediately informed her lawyer.
Through legal counsel, she learnt that an unknown individual may have contacted the plaintiff using her identity, a detail she claims is now clear to her.
Mehazabien also claimed that the current whereabouts of both the plaintiff and his lawyer are unknown, with their phones switched off. She stated she has no involvement in the matter and will pursue legal action to address the allegations. She added that she sought bail in good faith and trusts the country’s legal process.
In a Facebook post, she said that although the case was filed in March, she had not received any notice, phone call or documents over the past nine months because the complainant allegedly provided incorrect information.
She insisted she had never engaged in any business transactions with Amirul and that there is no record of communication between them. She further noted that the complainant has not provided a complete national ID, nor any evidence of the claimed Tk27 lakh payment, including bank statements, cheques, bKash records or written agreements.
Regarding the alleged February 11 incident, she pointed out that Hatirjheel is among Dhaka’s most heavily monitored areas, yet no CCTV footage or eyewitness accounts have been presented.
Attempts by TIMES to reach Amirul Islam on his 014-series number were unsuccessful, as the phone was found switched off.
Mehazabien’s lawyer, Tuhin Hawlader, told TIMES, “We have been wronged. This is a completely false and intentional case. They sent the notice to an address where Mehazabien does not live. How was she supposed to receive it?”
Asked whether his client would file a defamation case, he responded, “Let this case be settled first. My client will decide after she is cleared.”
