Court summons Purbokone editor, managing editor over defaming Khaleda Zia

A Chittagong court has summoned the editor and managing editor of Dainik Purbokone, a local daily, on Sunday in a defamation case lodged for allegedly publishing false news on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Mehnaj Rahman asked Dainik Purbokone Editor Taslim Uddin Chowdhury and Managing Editor Jashim Uddin Chowdhury to appear before her court within a month. Local BNP leader Belayet Hossain lodged the case, said the plaintiff’s counsel Abdus Sattar. The plaintiff, Belayet Hossain, member of the convening committee of Chittagong North district unit of BNP, said Khaleda Zia was a three-time prime minister of Bangladesh, leader of a political party and wife of a former president, and the false news published in the newspaper hurt her reputation. Earlier on October 11, the Dainik Purbokone published a report mentioning that Khaleda Zia’s family was the third most corrupt family in the world. On October 12, the newspaper issued an apology for publishing the news and removed the article from its online version.