Singer Asif acquitted in case over possession of 4 bottles of foreign liquor

A Dhaka court today (9 March) acquitted singer Asif Akbar in a case filed over the alleged possession of four bottles of foreign liquor.

The verdict was delivered by Judge Ayesha Akter Moushumi of the Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka, confirmed Defence lawyer Pradip Kumar Debnath.

Asif was present in court during the hearing. 

Earlier, on 3 March, the court concluded the recording of witness testimonies and fixed Monday for the presentation of arguments and the delivery of the verdict. 

According to the case documents, on 6 June 2018, Bangladesh Police arrested Asif from the office of Orb Entertainment at Panthapath under Tejgaon Police Station in connection with a case filed under the Information and Communication Technology Act.

During the arrest, four bottles of tequila were recovered from his office. The bottles were later sent to the Department of Narcotics Control for examination. 

On 23 July 2019, Sub-Inspector Prashanta Kumar Sikdar of the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department filed a case against Asif with Tejgaon Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act on charges of possessing foreign liquor without a licence.

On 13 November 2019, the investigating officer of the case, CID Sub-Inspector Jamal Hossain, submitted the charge sheet against him. Later, on 25 November 2024, the court framed charges against Asif and ordered the trial to begin.

During the proceedings, the court recorded testimonies from three witnesses before delivering the verdict acquitting the singer of the charge.