In a case filed in Narayanganj for derogatory comments about BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman, the court has issued arrest warrants against former information and broadcasting state minister Dr Murad Hasan and TV host Mohiuddin Helal.
The arrest warrants were issued by Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Kausar Alam on Tuesday afternoon.
Confirming the issue of the arrest warrants, Narayanganj Court police Inspector Abdur Rashid said: “The court has issued arrest warrants against both individuals in this defamation case.”
The case was filed on December 23, 2021, by AKM Omar Faruk, the organizational secretary of the District BNP Lawyers Forum, at the court of Narayanganj Judicial Magistrate Shamsur Rahman.
The complainant, lawyer AKM Omar Faruk, said: “Zaima Rahman, granddaughter of Begum Khaleda Zia and daughter of Tarique Rahman, is a legal professional based in London. On December 1, 2021, Murad Hasan and host Mohiuddin Helal participated in a virtual talk show where Murad Hasan made highly derogatory, obscene, misogynistic, and defamatory comments about Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman.
“The video of the show was deliberately circulated on social media to insult and demean the Zia family and Zaima Rahman. We had filed a defamation case against Murad Hasan and Mohiuddin Helal. The case was taken up by the court, and the DB police were assigned to investigate. The DB police have submitted their report to the court, which has now issued arrest warrants for Murad Hasan and Mohiuddin Helal. We demand their immediate arrest,” he added.
Notably, Dr Murad Hasan’s vulgar comments about Zaima Rahman sparked significant criticism on social media.
An audio clip of Dr Hasan’s phone conversation, in which he used vulgar language and threats while speaking to an actress, also went viral.
This led to strong reactions from various quarters. Subsequently, Dr Murad Hasan resigned from his position as information and broadcasting state minister on the prime minister’s directive.
After resigning, Dr Hasan left the country for Canada.
He is a former MP from Jamalpur-4 (Sarishabari Upazila), and his father, the late Matiur Rahman Talukdar, was the president of the Jamalpur District Awami League.
