Dhaka: Bangladeshi actress Nusraat Faria, known for portraying former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the biographical film 'Mujib: The Making of a Nation', has been sent to jail in connection with an attempted murder case involving Enamul Haque. The arrest marks a significant development amid growing political tensions in the country.
Faria was detained by police at Dhaka airport on Sunday as she prepared to travel to Thailand. She was subsequently remanded in custody following a hearing before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nasrin Akter on Monday. The case relates to an incident linked to the July 2024 movement.
Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Home Affairs Advisor, confirmed the ongoing investigation into the actress and stated that the government is committed to ensuring justice. “Measures will be taken so that only offenders are brought under the law and punished. At the same time, it will be ensured that no innocent individual faces punishment under any circumstance,” he said.
The case stems from an incident in July 2024 when Enamul Haque, participating in a movement under Vatara police jurisdiction, was shot in the leg and hospitalised unconscious. After recovering, he filed a complaint on May 3, 2025. The case names 283 individuals as accused, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 17 artists. Nusraat Faria is listed as the 207th accused and is identified as a “financial supporter” of the Awami League.
Faria’s portrayal of Sheikh Hasina in the 2023 epic biopic directed by the late Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal brought her widespread acclaim, making her arrest all the more notable.
The arrest has drawn sharp criticism from Bangladesh’s cultural community. Cultural Affairs Advisor Sarwar Farooki described the incident as “an embarrassing incident” for the government. In a social media post, Farooki suggested that the arrest might have been an overreaction following backlash over a recent foreign trip by former president Abdul Hamid and a similar case involving the wife of Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho. “These incidents are by no means justifiable. I believe Faria will get legal remedy,” he added.
Farooki emphasised the government’s stated policy that only those with verified involvement in the July uprising would be prosecuted, and warned against broad, indiscriminate arrests without preliminary investigation.
Prominent members of the Bangladesh Cholochitro Shilpi Samiti (the artistes' association), including Ashfaque Nipun, Azmeri Haque ‘Badhon,’ Khairul Basar, Sharaf Ahmed ‘Jibon,’ and Tabib Mahmud, have condemned the arrest, denouncing the “Fascist Yunus administration” and asserting that such actions cannot be accepted.
International voices have also criticised the move. British journalist David Bergman stated, “It now appears that simply being a known supporter of the Awami League, or having close associations with the party, is enough to make one a target. We have, I think, reached the point where such individuals can no longer feel safe in Bangladesh, where arbitrary arrest on baseless charges becomes a legitimate fear.”
Bergman further observed that the interim government “appears to be struggling with its moral and political direction,” while the country’s civil society seems “indifferent to due process and fairness, focused instead on vengeance and score-settling.” He noted that no major political force remains to champion basic human rights, and lamented that it has taken “just nine months” to reach this “dangerous threshold.”
With IANS inputs