Police say Pori Moni can take back seized mobile phone, laptop, car

Actress Shamsunahar Smrity, popularly known by her screen name Pori Moni, can take back her mobile phone, laptop and car as the police say they do not need the seized materials anymore for the investigation into narcotics charges against her.

The actress filed a plea with a Dhaka court on Sept 15 seeking to get back her belongings, including a makeup box.

The judge ordered the investigation officer to scrutinise the ownership of the objects and submit a report to the court, reports bdnews24.com.

Inspector Kazi Mostafa Kamal of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department submitted the report on Sunday, saying he does not need 16 materials seized as evidence in the case anymore.

The investigation will not be hampered if the materials are returned to Pori Moni, the investigator said, according to Nelanjona Refat Surovi, a lawyer for the actress.

The court will hold a hearing on the report on Tuesday, Surovi said on Monday.

The actress was arrested on Aug 4 after the Rapid Action Battalion raided her home in Dhaka’s Banani. The following day, she was named in a narcotics case.

The CID received permission from judges for three rounds of remand, totalling seven days, to interrogate Pori Moni over the case. After the remand terms expired on Aug 21, a judge ordered her to jail.

She finally received bail in the case on Aug 31 and was released from jail a day later, after nearly a month in detention.

The raid on her home months after she accused a businessman of trying to rape and murder her at a boating club triggered a debate in Bangladesh.

The High Court questioned the necessity of her three rounds of remand in police custody, concluding that remand orders one after another amounted to an “abuse of power”.