Dhaka Court Orders Momtaz Back to Jail
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A Dhaka court shown Momtaz Begum, a folk singer and former Awami League MP, arrested in a new case involving the attempted murder of a man.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam issued the order on Wednesday following a hearing. The court then ordered her to be sent back to jail.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruki argued the justifications for the arrest, while defense attorney Abdus Salam Molla petitioned the court to deny the application.
Momtaz has been in custody since 12 May 2025, when she was arrested around 11:45 pm in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. Mirpur Model Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Azizul Haque filed an application to officially show her arrested in the attempted murder case on Monday.
According to case documents, a man named Moktar Hossain sustained gunshot wounds on 4 August 2024, near the Mirpur swimming pool and fire service road during the July uprising. After receiving treatment and recovering, Moktar filed the lawsuit alleging attempted murder.
Momtaz first entered Parliament in 2008 through a reserved seat under the Awami League nomination. She was then elected as the MP for the Manikganj-2 constituency in the 2014 and 2018 national elections.
However, she lost her seat to an independent candidate in the 2024 general election, after which she reportedly went into hiding.
