Shomi Kaiser released from Kashimpur prison on bail

Actor Shomi Kaiser was released from Gazipur's Kashimpur Central Women's Prison last night (14 August) after securing bail in two separate cases regarding killing of two people during the July uprising.

She walked free at 10:40pm, confirmed Gazipur Additional District Magistrate Salma Khatun, quoting the prison's superintendent. 

"After verifying her bail documents, she was released at 10:40pm," the magistrate said.

Police arrested Shomi on 5 November last year from a house in Sector 4 of Uttara, Dhaka. She was later shown arrested in two attempted murder cases filed with Uttara East Police Station.

According to prison sources, she had been held at Kashimpur Central Women's Prison since her arrest. 

On 10 August, a High Court bench of Justice ASM Abdul Mobin and Justice Md Zabid Hossain granted her bail in a case over the attempted murder of Zubair Hasan Yusuf. Earlier, she had secured bail from a lower court in another attempted murder case of businessman Ishtiaq Mahmud.

With bail granted in both cases and no other charges pending against her, the court ordered her release from prison.

Shomi, daughter of martyred intellectual Shahidullah Kaiser and author, researcher, child organiser, and former MP Panna Kaiser, rose to fame as an actor before becoming involved in politics. She served as a member of the Awami League's Liberation War Affairs subcommittee and sought the party's nomination for the Feni-3 constituency in the 2024 general election, though she did not receive it.

She was also the president of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) and a director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). 

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August, Shomi resigned from her position as e-CAB president on 14 August.