A defamation case has been filed against four individuals, including three journalists, for making allegations against the Comilla-7 MP Dr Pran Gopal Datta of opposing his party in the last union parishad elections.
Chandina Municipal Farmers League President Zainal Abedin Johnny filed the defamation case of Tk6 crore at Comilla's Senior Judicial Magistrate No 7 Administrative Court.
The court subsequently directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) Comilla to conduct an investigation into the matter.
The accused are Abu Mucha Mazumdar, the former chairman of Mohichail UP, local daily Amader Comilla acting editor Nasima Khan Monty, Managing Director Shahzada Emran, and correspondent Masumur Rahman Masud.
According to the case statement, Abu Mucha Majumder, president and former chairman of Mohichail Union Awami League, made false allegations against Dr Pran Gopal.
Majumder claimed that he had opposed the Awami Leauge, leading to his defeat in the previous UP election.
Moreover, Majumder alleged that MP Pran Gopal had sought a donation of Tk20 lakh to secure his victory. However, only Tk16,50,000 was delivered to the MP's APS Sameer, and he failed to fulfill the intended purpose.
The video of Majumder's speech quickly went viral on social media, exposing the deepening divide within the upazila Awami League.
The case statement mentions that on June 4, the Daily Amader Comilla published an article causing a loss of Tk5 crore to the MP and Tk 1 crore to the plaintiff.
Following Majumder's allegations, supporters of the MP have held protests and demonstrations across the upazila for the past few days, while opposition leaders and activists have openly criticized the MP in separate meetings.
According to sources within the upazila Awami League unit, there has been a longstanding division between the current MP of Comilla-7 Constituency, Prof Dr Pran Gopal Datta, and the opposition led by Muntakim Ashraf Titu, the son of the late former deputy speaker Prof Ali Ashraf and former vice-president of FBCCI.
Upazila Awami League President Mutakim Ashraf Titu said that for the past two years, the party's Trinamool workers have expressed discontent toward MP Pran Gopal.
Consequently, the MP's associates have filed numerous false cases against leaders and activists of the Upazila Awami League. Titu claimed that the allegations against the lawmaker are true.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Comilla-7 MP Dr Pran Gopal provided an overview of the issue, clarifying that there is no division within the Chandina Upazila Awami League regarding the ideology of Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina.
He emphasized to Dhaka Tribune that a faction is disseminating false propaganda to create controversy, and the statements made by the UP chairman are entirely fictitious and fabricated.
Dr Pran Gopal asserted that the people of Chandina will not fall for these false narratives.