A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant against actress and singer Meher Afroz Shaon in a case filed by her stepmother, Nishi Islam.
The information was confirmed on Wednesday, April 23.
The arrest order was issued a day earlier, on Tuesday (April 22), by the Dhaka Metropolitan's First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
Shaon is accused of physically assaulting her father, Engineer Mohammad Ali, and stepmother, Nishi Islam. The case includes a total of 12 accused individuals, among them former Detective Branch (DB) chief Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid.
During Tuesday’s hearing, two police officers from Badda Police Station admitted in court that, under the instructions of their then Officer-in-Charge (OC), they had detained and physically assaulted Nishi Islam. However, as Meher Afroz Shaon, former DB chief Harun, and the remaining accused failed to appear in court, the magistrate issued arrest warrants against them.
Expressing satisfaction with the court's decision, Nishi Islam stated, “We want justice. Shaon has used her influence and assaulted us.”
According to the complaint, the conflict began when Shaon’s father, Engineer Mohammad Ali, placed a matrimonial advertisement early last year. Through that, he met and later married Nishi Islam.
After learning of the marriage, Shaon allegedly began subjecting her father to physical and mental abuse. Using her political influence as an Awami League affiliate, she reportedly managed to have her stepmother imprisoned for six months. Additionally, she is accused of falsely declaring her father mentally unstable and having him confined in a psychiatric facility for several months.
Nishi Islam has also claimed that Shaon's siblings were involved in these actions.
