'If we let her go, questions would still be asked,' says home advisor on Nusraat Faria's arrest

Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has explained that Dhallywood actress Nusraat Faria has been arrested as the investigation in the case against her is still ongoing and it is unclear whether she is innocent.

Jahangir spoke to the media at the Secretariat after a meeting on the law-and-order situation for Eid-ul-Azha on Monday.

There have been growing concerns and allegations that cases tied to the July Uprising are being used to harass innocent people.

Addressing the issue, Jahangir said: “We have stated many times that innocent people should not be harassed. We said that only the perpetrators should be brought to justice and punished – that no innocent person should suffer.”

Asked why Nusraat had been arrested when she was going abroad for medical treatment, he said: “The investigation against her has not been completed. We cannot make a statement before the investigation is complete. If we let her go in this situation, you will ask why we released her.”

Jahangir was also asked why Sheikh Shaira Sharmin, wife of Bangladesh Jatiya Party Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho, was stopped at the airport even though there was no case filed against her.

“There is a policy on foreign travel and those who fall under the policy face restrictions,” the home advisor said.

Shaira faced obstacles at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on May 13 while attempting to travel abroad. However, she was later able to travel to Thailand on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said that Faria’s arrest was “not justifiable”.

In a Facebook post, Farooki wrote: "This case against Faria has been around for some time. Until now, I wasn’t aware of any government move to arrest her before the investigation concluded."

"Following the backlash over the former president Abdul Hamid’s foreign trip, there may have been an overreaction driven by nervousness. A similar incident happened a few days ago involving Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho’s wife."

He said, "These incidents are by no means justifiable. I believe Faria will get legal remedy."

"We must handle these broad-based cases with greater sensitivity. We should remember our core duty is to bring the real perpetrators of the incidents during the July movement to justice."