Singer Mainul Ahsan Noble has married the woman who had filed a rape case against him. The wedding formalities took place at the main gate of Keraniganj Central Jail Thursday under the supervision of the prison authorities
Singer Noble, the plaintiff woman, and four witnesses, two from each side, were present at the time. The deputy inspector general of prisons (DIG Prisons) in Dhaka division, Jahangir Kabir confirmed the news to Prothom Alo.
Earlier, the court granted permission for Noble, arrested in a rape case, to marry the plaintiff of the rape case. In response to Noble’s petition, magistrate of the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court Nazmin Akter issued the order on Wednesday.
A sub-inspector (SI) at the crime and information division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Ila Moni confirmed this to Prothom Alo.
Noble’s lawyer Jasim Uddin and sub-inspector Ila Moni told Prothom Alo that the plaintiff of the rape case was present in court. Also the accused singer, Noble sought permission for marriage in writing at the court. The court then instructed the prison authorities to make necessary arrangements for the marriage subjected to consent of both the plaintiff and the defendant.
The close acquaintances who attended the wedding of Noble and the plaintiff woman at the jail gate as witnesses are Nazma Hossain, Sabiha Tarin, Khalilur Rahman, and Sadek Ullah Bhuiyan.
Singer Noble has been in jail since 20 May following his arrest in the rape case. On that day, his lawyer claimed in court that the woman who had brought the accusation was, in fact, Noble’s wife and that he had not raped her.
Although Noble’s lawyer claimed the woman was his spouse, he could not produce a marriage certificate in court. The woman had accused Noble of raping and abusing her, keeping her confined in an apartment for seven months.
Investigating officer of the case, inspector (investigation) Md Murad Hossain from Demra Police Station had told Prothom Alo, “Singer Noble could not submit any official documentation to the police to confirm that he had married the woman. Primary investigation suggested that a verbal marriage ceremony between Noble and that woman may have taken place at a residence in Jatrabari, but there was no registered marriage document.”
Demra police informed the court in writing that the woman had first made acquaintance with Nobel on Facebook seven years ago (in 2018). At the time, she was living in a rented flat in Mohammadpur area and was a third-year under-graduate student at a college in Dhaka. They used to talk regularly.
Noble invited her to his studio in Demra on 12 November last year. When she tried to leave around 8:00 pm, Nobel allegedly seized her phone and smashed it later. He then raped her and filmed the act. Afterwards, she was allegedly held captive in that flat for seven months under threats, added the police.
The police further informed the court that after the video of the woman being assaulted went viral, her parents came to Dhaka. Later the victim woman was rescued from Noble’s flat and she filed a case against Noble on 19 May under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
Noble, originally from Gopalganj, rose to fame by participating in Kolkata-based television reality show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’. He faced criticism for making controversial comments during the show. Later, he was involved in scandals for his relationships with several women. Although there was potential for him to make a mark in playback music, these controversies overshadowed his career.
