Veteran Bangladeshi singer, composer and music director Mujib Pardeshi, best known for the iconic song Ami Bondi Karagare, has been sent to jail in connection with a cheque dishonour case.
On Tuesday (4 August), Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Sefatullah ordered that the veteran musician be sent to prison after he was produced before the court.
According to the case documents, Idris Ali Biswas filed a cheque dishonour case against Mujib Pardeshi in a Magura court in 2022, alleging that a cheque worth Tk1 million had bounced.
On 15 March 2023, Magura Second Joint District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Anwar Sadat found the musician guilty and sentenced him to one year of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also fined him Tk1 million, equivalent to the value of the dishonoured cheque.
Following the verdict, an arrest warrant was issued after Mujib Pardeshi failed to appear before the court and remained absconding.
He was arrested by Uttara West Police Station in Dhaka on Monday (3 August).
SI Helal Uddin of the prosecution department said police requested that the accused be kept in custody after producing him before the court, and the court granted the request.
He added that no lawyer appeared on behalf of Mujib Pardeshi during the hearing.
The complainant’s lawyer, Shafiqul Islam, opposed bail, arguing that the accused had been aware of the case but had remained absconding since the verdict.
He told the court that granting bail could prejudice the complainant’s interests.
Born Mujibur Rahman Molla, Mujib Pardeshi rose to nationwide fame in the 1980s with the folk-inspired song Ami Bondi Karagare, written and composed by Hasan Matiur Rahman.
The song later gained renewed popularity after being featured in the blockbuster film Beder Meye Josna.
Apart from his musical career, Mujib Pardeshi earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from the University of Dhaka.
He also served as a BCS cadre officer, worked as a music director at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC), and later held the position of Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Information.
