RAB detains Pori Moni with liquor, home raid drama viewed by 8m people

Bangladesh Police’s elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is currently (Wednesday, August 4) conducted a raid at the home of popular Dhallywood actor Pori Moni in Banani, Dhaka.

RAB sources told media outlets that they recovered more than 30 bottles of foreign liquor from her house and detained the actor around 7 pm, whose real name is Samsunnahar Smriti.

RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Assistant Director ANM Imran Khan previously told the press: “A RAB team carried out the raid based on some specific allegations against her”.

The raid began at 4 pm and several people gathered in front of the celeb’s Banani residence. The Banani society authorities have made announcements using megaphones to maintain social distancing during an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Recent media reports suggest Lt Col Khairul Islam, in-charge of Rab’s intelligence wing was seen entering her apartment along with several plain-clothed DB officials at 4pm.

Pori Moni started a Facebook live video at that time from her verified page and claimed that many people came to her house and entered forcibly. She claimed in the live video that she informed the law enforcement several times but they had not arrived to help her. 

She locked herself in her room during her Facebook live session. When journalists arrived at the scene it was finally revealed that RAB went to conduct the raid. After the assurance from the Rab officials and seeing journalists in front of her home she let the law enforcement members enter her home. 

The 31-minute-long Facebook live session received more than 8 million people and was shared more than 47 thousand times, at the time of writing this report.

RAB sources told several media outlets a detailed press briefing will be done after the raid.

Pori Moni has been under the spotlight since she made allegations of attempted rape and murder against a Dhaka businessman named Nasir U Mahmood.

Attempted rape and murder case against Nasir

On June 14, Pori Moni filed a case at Savar police station against the former president of Uttara Club Ltd Nasir U Mahmood, and five others on charges of attempted rape and murder, followed by a viral Facebook status and press conference.

Pori Moni claimed in the case statement, that she and her costume designer Junayed Karim Jimmy, family friend Omi and her cousin Bonny left for Uttara in two separate cars on the night of June 8. 

After several chains of events, they arrived at Ashulia’s Dhaka Boat Club where Mahmood and Omi “forced her to drink liquor.”

She also claimed that then they started touching her inappropriately and when she resisted, they physically assaulted her.

On June 16, Pori was also accused of vandalizing Gulshan’s All Community Club by its president KM Alamgir Iqbal. He claimed that Pori came to the club late on June 7 and “smashed 15 glasses, nine ashtrays and some plates.”

Some CCTV footage of that night also went viral on social media where Pori Moni was seen accompanied by a man and a woman entering the club on a member’s reference.

She was seen leaving the club premises when the authorities called the police. 

On June 17, investigators told the press that some of their findings contradicted parts of Pori Moni’s complaint.

In the same week, various smartphone clips of that incident went viral on social media where Pori Moni is seen yelling at the accused businessman Nasir U Mahmood.
Pori Moni then told media outlets that a distorted small clip does not prove anything and asked the club authorities to release the complete CCTV footage of that night.