A Dhaka court has imposed a travel ban on actress Meher Afroz Shaon, her father, and eight others in connection with an attempted murder case.
The order was issued on Thursday, May 22, by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shanawullah of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court. The information was confirmed by court bench assistant Parvez Ahmed.
Previously, on April 23, the court had issued arrest warrants against Shaon and the same group of individuals in the same case.
According to court sources, the plaintiff in the case filed a petition requesting a travel ban on Shaon and the others, who are currently fugitives. After a hearing, the court granted the request.
Others banned from leaving the country include Shaon’s father, engineer Mohammad Ali; her brother Mahin Afroz; her sister Senjuti and Senjuti’s husband Sabbir; Shaon’s cousin Mokhlesur Rahman; former head of the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch Harun-or-Rashid; former CTTC Additional Deputy Commissioner Nazmul Islam; Subrata Das, General Manager of Citizen Cables; and Moinul Hossain, head of the accounts department.
Police Inspector Saiful Islam Bhuiyan and Sub-Inspector Shah Alam, also accused in the case, are currently out on bail.
The case was filed on March 12 by a woman named Nishi Islam, who accused Shaon and 11 others of physical abuse. Nishi claims that Shaon’s father, Mohammad Ali, is her husband and submitted a marriage contract (kabinnama) to the court as evidence.
The court accepted the case and issued summons for all 12 accused to appear in court. When Shaon and 9 others failed to appear on April 23, arrest warrants were issued against them.
In her complaint, Nishi Islam alleges that Mohammad Ali married her on February 21, 2024, without disclosing that he was already married, and promised a dowry of 5 million BDT. She claims that once she learned about his existing marriage, she faced pressure from the accused to remain silent. She further alleges that she was physically assaulted at Mohammad Ali’s residence in Gulshan on March 4, and that Shaon also took part in the abuse. She claims she was later forcefully removed from the residence, detained, and further harassed by the accused.
