Singer and composer Mujib Pardeshi, known for composing the popular song Ami Bondi Karagare from the iconic film Bedher Meye Josna, has been arrested in a cheque dishonour case and sent to jail.
On Tuesday (18 August), Dhaka’s Fifth Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Sadiq Ahmed passed the order following an application by the plaintiff.
Court bench assistant Shah Alam Mia confirmed the matter.
According to him, Pardeshi was sentenced in the case to one year of simple imprisonment and fined Tk8.8 lakh on 21 November, 2007.
Under the verdict, Tk5 lakh of the fine was to be paid to the plaintiff, while the remaining Tk3.8 lakh was to be deposited with the state treasury.
According to the case documents, in 2003, Pardeshi took Tk4.4 lakh from plaintiff Majibur Rahman on the promise of taking his younger brother, Md Solaiman Sardar, to England.
The money was paid in two instalments—Tk2.2 lakh through a bank and another Tk2.2 lakh in cash.
When Pardeshi failed to take Solaiman to England, the plaintiff demanded a refund. Pardeshi then issued two cheques for Tk2.2 lakh each.
However, both cheques were repeatedly dishonoured by the bank due to insufficient funds. The plaintiff subsequently sent several legal notices demanding payment, but the money was allegedly not returned.
Majibur Rahman filed the case on 1 June, 2004.
The complaint also alleged that Pardeshi had used his identity as a musician to persuade several people to pay him money on the promise of arranging travel to foreign countries.
This is the second cheque dishonour case in which Pardeshi has been sent to jail this month.
On 4 August, he was jailed in another case involving a dishonoured cheque worth Tk10 lakh.
The second case was filed in 2022 by Idris Ali Biswas in Magura. On 15 March, 2023, Magura’s Second Joint Sessions Judge Muhammad Anwar Sadat sentenced Pardeshi to one year of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Tk10 lakh, equivalent to the value of the dishonoured cheque.
