Actress Pori Moni boozed, hosted drinking parties at home regularly, claims RAB

Actress Pori Moni consumed alcohol and hosted drinking parties regularly, for which she set up a minibar at home, the Rapid Action Battalion or RAB claims.

She and three other arrestees are facing charges for possessing illegal substances under the Narcotics (Control) Act, according to the elite police unit.

One of them, film producer Nazrul Islam Raz will be charged under the Pornography (Control) Act in addition to the drugs charges.

The Rapid Action Battalion showed bottles of liquor and drugs, which were seized in a raid on actress Pori Moni’s home, at a media briefing at its headquarters on Thursday, Aug 5, 2021.

RAB spokesman Commander Khandaker Al Moin said they were preparing three cases against Pori Moni, Raz and their associates Ashraful Islam Dipu and Sabuj Ali.

The RAB arrested Sharful Hasan alias Mishu Hasan and his accomplice Md Masudul Islam alias Jishan in Bashundhara on Tuesday on charges of carrying out illicit activities in the name of DJ parties.

Moin said at a media briefing on Thursday that information gleaned from Mishu and Jishan led to the raid on Pori Moni’s home in Banani on Wednesday.

Besides Pori Moni, the RAB arrested her associate Ashraful Islam Dipu in the raid on her home. Hours later, the RAB arrested Raz and Sabuj in a similar raid on his home in the same area.

During the arrest, RAB allegedly recovered Yaba pills, LSD blots, bottles of liquor from Pori Moni’s house while pornographic contents were found on Raz’s computer.

According to Commander Moin, charges under the Narcotics Act were being pressed against Pori Moni, Dipu and Sabuj while Raz is facing charges under pornography and narcotics laws. All four were handed to the custody of Banani Police.

PARTIES AT POSH AREAS

The RAB said they strengthened surveillance in Gulshan, Baridhara, Banani and other upmarket areas after obtaining information about illicit activities, such as drugs abuse, in parties.

The intelligence unit of the law-enforcing agency and RAB-1 arrested Mishu and Jishan with a gun, six rounds of bullets, 13,300 Yaba pills, a Ferrari, shisha equipment, and nearly 50,000 rupees in counterfeit bills.        

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid placed Mishu on a nine-day remand in three separate cases and Jishan on a four-day remand in two cases on Thursday. The charges against them have been brought under the acts against narcotics, pornography and arms.

Raz, who passed Dakhil exams under the madrasa board, created a syndicate of some 12 people with the assistance of Mishu and Jishan to host the parties in the upscale neighbourhoods, the RAB said.

Shamsunnahar Smrity entered the film industry with the screen name Pori Moni in 2014 with the help of Raz, according to the law enforcers. She has worked in more than two dozen movies.

Raz used social media to carry out the illegal activities, the RAB official said. He hosted parties overseas as well.

“They received huge sums of money from the participants of these parties. Raz used to invest the money illegally earned from these parties into contracts and showbiz,” Commander Moin said.

He provided information on several individuals who invested had money in these businesses, Moin said, declining to name them.

“We are checking the information he gave.”