Actress Nusraat Faria, who played former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Shyam Benegal’s biographical drama Mujib: The Making of a Nation, was arrested from Dhaka airport and sent to judicial custody on Sunday for alleged involvement in an attempted murder case linked to the Bangladesh unrest last year, per reports.
As per Bangladeshi media reports, 31-year-old Faria, known for her work in Tollywood films like Boss 2 and Bibaho Obhijaan, was produced in court on Monday morning amidst tight security. The actress broke down in tears while she was taken to court.
Faria was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before she could board a flight to Thailand, as per reports. The court will hear her bail plea on May 22.
Following Faria’s arrest, filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, who is also the cultural affairs advisor of Bangladesh, called the actress’s arrest a “troubling development” in a Facebook post Monday.
“These incidents are in no way justified. I believe Faria will get legal assistance. And we can handle such cases more sensitively. We have to remember our main job is to find the criminals behind the July unrest,” he wrote in Bengali.
Arresting individuals without clear preliminary evidence, especially in ongoing cases, is not only inappropriate but also a violation of legal principles, he added.
Last year’s Bangladesh protests, which initially started as a students’ movement, toppled the Sheikh Hasina-led government, leading to the formation of an interim government in the country.
Nusraat Faria’s lawyer told the court that the actress was in Canada during the July unrest.
Nusrat Faria has previously shared screen space with Bengali actors Jeet, Ankush, and Sohini Sarkar. She made her debut in the Bengali film industry with action comedy Hero 420 (2015).
On August 5, 2024, former Bangladesh PM Shaikh Hasina resigned after a large crowd of protestors barged into her official residence in Dhaka. Her resignation was announced by chief of army staff Waker-uz-Zaman. Later that day, Hasina fled to India amid civil unrest and violence in her country.
