Cross-Examination of Pori Moni Postponed Due to Time Constraints

A Dhaka court on Sunday deferred the cross-examination of popular actress Pori Moni in a case filed over allegations of assault, threats and sexual harassment, as she failed to appear before the court on time due to “traffic jam”.

Judge Mohammad Sadat Hossain Bhuiyan of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-9 fixed 30 November as the new date after a hearing, said Pori Moni’s lawyer Nilanjana Rifat Suravi.

Sunday was scheduled for Pori Moni’s cross-examination by the defence. She had left for the court in the morning but could not reach the court due to heavy traffic congestion, she said, adding that the court therefore fixed 30 November as the new date.

However, Pori Moni reached the court premises around 2:00pm and told the media that going through these dates puts her through a lot of mental trauma, as it makes her relive those incidents, which is a form of mental torture for her.

“It has been five years. I want the cross-examination to be completed as soon as possible. I want the case to be resolved and exemplary punishment to be handed down,” the actress added.

Earlier, Pori Moni had missed several dates for her cross-examination for various reasons.According to case documents, Pori Moni filed the case with Savar Police Station on 14 June 2021 over allegations of attempted rape, attempted murder and assault. The accused in the case are Nasir Uddin, Tuhin Siddiqui Omi and Shahidul Alam.

After the investigation, Savar Police Station Inspector Kamal Hossain submitted a charge sheet on 6 September 2021. The court framed charges against the accused on 18 May 2022 and subsequently commenced the trial.