A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant against popular actress Pori Moni in an attempted murder case filed by businessman Nasir Uddin Mahmud.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Mahfuzur Rahman passed the order on Wednesday.

Pori Moni could not appear before the court on the scheduled date due to an allergy-related illness. Her lawyer sought an adjournment and requested another date for the hearing. However, the court rejected the petition and ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant.

According to court sources, complainant Nasir Uddin Mahmud appeared at Wednesday’s hearing and sought cancellation of the bail granted to the accused. No lawyer representing the defence was present during the hearing.

Following the proceedings, the court cancelled the accused persons’ bail and ordered the issuance of arrest warrants.

In her application, Pori Moni’s lawyer stated that Wednesday had been scheduled for recording witness testimony. However, the actress was unable to attend because of an allergy-related health problem. The lawyer argued that refusing an adjournment could cause irreparable harm to the accused.

According to case documents, businessman Nasir Uddin Mahmud filed the case against Pori Moni and several others at a Dhaka court on July 6, 2022.

In his complaint, Nasir alleged that Pori Moni and her associates regularly visited several high-profile clubs, consumed alcohol and took items as parcels without paying for them. He also accused them of harassing him by threatening to use their connections with police officials to implicate him in false cases.

The complaint also described an incident at Savar’s Boat Club on the night of June 9, 2021.

Nasir alleged that Pori Moni and her associates entered the club after midnight and used a washroom on the second floor before consuming alcohol inside the premises.

At around 1:15am, as Nasir and his associate Shah Shahidul Alam were leaving the club, Pori Moni allegedly called him and asked him to sit with them for a while.

According to the complaint, she then allegedly attempted to attract his attention through obscene gestures and pressured him to provide a bottle of Blue Label whisky as a complimentary parcel.

Nasir claimed that after he refused to give away the bottle free of charge, Pori Moni verbally abused him. An argument followed, during which she allegedly threw a serving glass and a mobile phone at him, injuring his head and chest.

He further alleged that Pori Moni and her associates assaulted him, threatened to kill him and vandalised parts of the club.

The investigation was conducted by Md. Monir Hossain, an inspector of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), Dhaka district.

After completing the investigation, he submitted a report to the Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on March 18, 2024. The report said investigators found evidence supporting allegations of assault and intimidation against Pori Moni and her costume designer, Junaid Bogdadi Jimmy, also known as Jim.

However, the investigation report found no evidence supporting the allegations against another accused, Fatema Tuz Jannat Boni.

On January 26 last year, the same court framed charges against Pori Moni and Jim and ordered the trial to begin.

Separately, following the Boat Club incident, Pori Moni also filed a case at Savar Police Station against Nasir Uddin and another person, accusing them of attempted rape and attempted murder. That case is currently pending before Dhaka’s Ninth Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.