A Dhaka court has acquitted popular singer Asif Akbar in a case filed over the alleged possession of four bottles of foreign liquor.
The verdict was delivered on Monday (March 9) by Judge Ayesha Akter Mousumi of Dhaka’s 2nd Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court after the hearing concluded. The court acquitted Asif Akbar as the allegations against him could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Defense lawyer Pradip Kumar Debnath confirmed the matter.
Earlier, on March 3, the court concluded the recording of witness testimonies and set Monday for arguments and the delivery of the verdict. Asif Akbar was present in court during the hearing. Reacting to the verdict, he told the media that justice had been served.
According to the case statement, on June 6, 2018, singer Asif Akbar was arrested from the office of Arb 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 illegal tequila were allegedly found in his office room. The bottles were later sent to the Department of Narcotics Control for testing.
On July 23, 2019, Sub-Inspector Prashanta Kumar Sikdar of the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station, accusing him of possessing foreign liquor without a license.
After completing the investigation, CID Sub-Inspector Md. Jamal Uddin submitted the charge sheet against him on October 13, 2019.
On November 25, 2024, the court formally framed charges against Asif Akbar and ordered the trial to begin. During the trial, the court recorded the testimonies of three witnesses before delivering the verdict.
