Ex-Jamaat MP Gazi Nazrul gets 8-week anticipatory bail in attempted murder case

The High Court today (10 August) granted eight weeks' anticipatory bail to Gazi Nazrul Islam, the expelled Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker from Satkhira-4, in an attempted murder case filed with Pallabi Police Station in Dhaka.

A High Court bench comprising Justice KM Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher passed the order, according to court sources.

Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan appeared for Gazi Nazrul during the hearing.

The case was filed on 21 July by Obaidur Rahman, the MP's personal driver, against Gazi Nazrul and four others following the circulation of a video showing what was described as a "private moment".

Obaidur, who is the maternal uncle of the woman whom Gazi Nazrul has introduced as his second wife, alleged that he was assaulted after protesting against the MP's alleged "immoral relationship" and being suspected of involvement in leaking the video.

Besides Gazi Nazrul, the other accused are Aminur Rahman, Masum Billah, Mostasim Billah and Rakibul Hasan.

The controversy surrounding Gazi Nazrul began on 20 July when CCTV footage showing him in an intimate moment with a woman went viral on social media.

The Satkhira district unit of Jamaat initially claimed the footage had been fabricated using artificial intelligence or deepfake technology. Several fact-checking organisations later concluded that the footage was authentic and had not been generated using AI.

In a statement issued on 21 July, Jamaat Central Publicity and Media Department Secretary Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said the party was collecting information and verifying the facts before taking any organisational action in accordance with its rules.

Gazi Nazrul had earlier claimed in a social media post that the woman in the footage was his second wife, Mst Mariam Begum. He said they had married on 17 June with the consent of his first wife.

He also alleged that while he and his family were staying in Dhaka's Moghbazar area, his driver and a relative of his second wife brought outsiders to hold them hostage and demand money.

According to the lawmaker, after the alleged extortion attempt failed, the group obtained the CCTV footage illegally and circulated it online due to previous enmity.

Statements from Gazi Nazrul's first wife, his claimed second wife and his father-in-law were subsequently circulated on social media. They described the matter as a family issue and alleged that the incident was part of a conspiracy.

Gazi Nazrul was later expelled from Jamaat-e-Islami following the controversy.