A Cox's Bazar court has framed charges against an employee of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) in a defamation case of Tk100 crore filed by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Tamanna Farah in Cox's Bazar passed the order in presence of the accused.
Plaintiff lawyer Adv Sajjadul Karim said: “After hearing both parties’ statements, the judge dismissed the accused’s plea for exemption from the case and ordered the framing of charges. The court also ordered the taking of witness testimonies as part of the case trial.”
Defence lawyer Adv Abdu Sukkur said that his client did not make any press statement against the BGB. “The case is not applicable to her under Section 500 of the Criminal Procedure Code.”
He also said a revision case would be filed in the district judge's court against the court's order.
BGB, on November 10, filed a defamation case for "premeditated propagation of false allegations such as that of gang-raping" against some BGB personnel.
The BLAST employee is the lone accused in the case.
Plaintiff Nayeb Subedar Mohammad Ali Molla -- in-charge of Damdamia check-post of BGB Battalion-2 on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway -- in the case statement, said that the woman's "false allegation" has severely tarnished the BGB's image as a force.
In a press statement released on October 13, 2020, BLAST demanded justice for its employee, saying that she was a victim of sexual violence at a checkpoint on the Teknaf-Cox's Bazar road. It also demanded that the government ensure her safety.