Trial of Papia, husband in arms case begins

A Dhaka court will record witness testimonies in an illegal arms case against expelled Jubo Mahila League leader Shamima Noor Papia and her husband Mofizur Rahman alias Sumon Chowdhury from August 31 to September 3.

Judge KM Imrul Kayes of Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 issued the order after framing the charges against them on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.

Papia and Sumon, who are also facing charges in two other cases relating to the possession of counterfeit notes and liquor, are currently behind bars. They were presented in court for the charge-framing hearing before being taken back to jail.

Chief Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu and Taposh Pal represented the state at the hearing, while lawyers Abu Fateh Md Golam Fattah and Shakhawat Hossain appeared on behalf of the accused.

Both Papia and Sumon plead not guilty after the charges were read out to them in court, said Taposh.

"They both claimed to be innocent and want the charges to drop. But the judge rejected their appeal for acquittal and indicted them in the case."