A startling case of mistaken identity has come to light after a man was sentenced to one year imprisonment in a cheque dishonour case simply because his name and locality matched those of the actual accused. Court and police investigations later confirmed that the person sent to jail was not the real bank account holder, while the actual accused remains at large.
According to case records, on June 18, 2019, Md. Mamun Mia, identifying himself as the owner of Messrs Poronto Bela Poultry Feed, issued a cheque worth Tk 32 lakh from Prime Bank Limited. The cheque was dishonoured the following day, June 19, due to insufficient funds. A legal notice was subsequently sent to Mamun Mia on July 11.
On August 25, 2019, Mohammad Wasikul Azad Sarkar, Recovery Manager of Biswas Poultry and Fish Feeds Limited, filed a case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
The court framed charges on December 14, 2021, declaring the accused absconding. During trial, the prosecution produced one witness along with documentary evidence. Later, on March 13, 2023, Mujibur Rahman became the complainant through a power of attorney change.
After a lengthy trial, on June 29, 2025, Judge Nazmun Nahar of Dhaka Metropolitan Joint Sessions Judge 4th Court delivered an ex parte verdict, sentencing the accused to one year simple imprisonment and imposing a fine of Tk 32 lakh. The judgment noted that the accused remained absconding and therefore witnesses could not be cross-examined.
On February 5, 2026, police arrested a person named Mamun Mia pursuant to an arrest warrant. However, the defence claimed that the arrested individual had no connection with the bank account or the cheque involved in the case.
Following the claim, the court ordered an investigation by Shibpur Model Police Station in Narsingdi. Investigating Officer SI Mohammad Masudur Rahman reported that the actual account holder of Prime Bank’s Shibpur branch account no. 21411080010101 was Mamun Mia, son of Suruj Mia and Jamuna Begum. In contrast, the arrested man’s parents were deceased Ali Akbar and Nurunnahar, confirming they were entirely different individuals.
The investigation revealed that the real accused withdrew money through cheques from several banks, closed the business, and went into hiding. Due to identical names and residence in the same locality, the legal notice was mistakenly served on the wrong person, who accepted and signed it in good faith. Police later executed the arrest warrant at that address and arrested the innocent individual.
In his report, SI Masudur Rahman stated that the detained Mamun was a simple and straightforward person and that preliminary findings clearly indicated he was not the individual who operated the bank account.
Bank documents from Prime Bank’s Shibpur branch further confirmed that the account belonged to Messrs Poronto Bela Poultry Feed, owned by the actual Mamun Mia (father Suruj Mia, mother Jamuna Begum, address: Murgiber, Shibpur, Narsingdi).
Defence lawyer Sadekul Islam Bhuiyan Jadu argued that there was no match between his client’s parental information and the bank’s KYC records. He alleged that due to negligence or intentional failure, the complainant side did not properly identify the real accused and instead caused harassment to an innocent person.
He added that a petition alleging fraud has been filed before the court seeking legal action against those responsible.
The victim’s brother, Nur Mohammad, said the family suffered severe social and financial hardship because of the wrongful imprisonment. Another brother, Masum Mia, stated that the incident resulted from name confusion and that the actual accused was a different person.
After hearing statements from the investigating officer, relatives, and witnesses from both sides, the court ordered Mamun Mia’s immediate release from jail.
