Singer Asif denied bail, lands in jail

A Dhaka court today sent popular singer Asif Akbar to jail after rejecting both the remand and bail petitions in a case filed by contemporary lyricist and composer Shafiq Tuhin over copyright issues and threats.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Keshab Roy Chowdhury passed the order after Tejgaon police produced Asif before it with a five-day remand prayer.

On the other hand, defence counsel submitted a petition seeking Asif’s bail along with the plea for cancellation of the remand prayer.

Meantime, the singer told the court that he was falsely implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass him. The charges brought against him were fabricated, so he appealed to the court to grant him bail cancelling the remand prayer, the accused said.

After hearing both the sides, the court rejected both the remand and bail prayers and ordered to send him to jail.

Asif was held from his studio in FDC area in Dhaka, around 1:00am today, Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent (organised crime) of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), told The Daily Star in the morning.

According to charges, which includes one under ICT Act, singer Asif sold out digital copies of several songs without permission of the singers. Also, he said to have issued public threats and demeaned Tuhin on Facebook live.

The case was filed with Tejgaon Police Station last Monday. Asif was accused in the case along with about four to five others.