Taposh, wife among 5 sued over 'illegal takeover' of Gaan Bangla

A court sets Jan 1 for the submission of the investigation report in the case

A case has been filed over the alleged illegal takeover of 'Gaan Bangla', the country’s only music-based private television channel, against its Managing Director Kaushik Hossain Taposh, his wife and Chairperson Farzana Munni, and three others.

The case was initiated by Syed Shams Uddin Ahmed, according to Sub-Inspector Moktar, the general registration officer at Gulshan Police Station.

The other accused include Rabi Shankar Maitree, M Amanullah Khan (Chanchal Khan), Syed Nabil Ashraf, and four unidentified individuals.

SI Moktar said that the complainant submitted a petition to the court of Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Sanaullah in Dhaka on Nov 25. The judge accepted the petition and instructed the chief of Gulshan Police Station to register it as an official case.

The case was officially filed and on Dec 3, it was forwarded to court. After reviewing the complaint, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sharifur Rahman set Jan 1 as the deadline for submitting the investigation report.

Investigating officer SI Harunor Rashid from Gulshan Police Station said, "The case is currently under investigation. Once the investigation is complete, we will submit the report to the court."

According to the case documents, Shams, along with Md Badruddoza Sagar, Bakhtiar Shikdar, and Rabi Shankar Maitree, had registered a company called Birds Eye Mass Media and Communication PLC on July 25, 2011, with the aim of opening a private satellite television channel.

The petitioner held 7,000 shares, while the others held 1,000 shares each, making up a total of 10,000 shares with a primary capital of Tk 10 million.

On Dec 22, 2011, Shams, who was the chairman and managing director of Birds Eye Mass Media, visited Amanullah Khan's home at the request of Amanullah and Rabi Shankar. Around 8pm that evening, Taposh, Farzana Munni, Nabil Ashraf, and several unidentified individuals arrived and demanded that Shams Uddin and Badruddoza Sagar sign documents, threatening them with firearms.

The plaintiff alleges that it became clear from their conversation that the suspects intended to seize Shams Uddin’s and Sagar’s 8,000 shares in Birds Eye Mass Media. Fearing for their lives, Shams Uddin and Sagar signed the documents.

The suspects also threatened to file cases against them or even kill them if they reported the incident or revealed any details. The suspects claimed to have the backing of influential figures from the previous government.

In fear of their safety, the plaintiffs filed a general diary with Mirpur Police Station on Dec 25, 2011, and subsequently left the country. After spending an extended period abroad, Shams Uddin returned to Bangladesh, confident that the rule of law had been restored. He then decided to file the case after consulting with all witnesses.

Rabi Shankar Maitree, one of the suspects in the case, denied the allegations, calling them “utterly fake” and “an extreme lie”. He claimed that similar cases had been filed with different plaintiffs’ names and dates, adding that Taposh and Munni had joined Gaan Bangla in July 2012. He also said that Shams Uddin had previously filed a case only against him and Amanullah Khan.

Expressing his disappointment, he said, "I lost my home country only for being one of the initiators of Gaan Bangla TV. My life in Bangladesh was ruined because of some rogues and barbarians. I am now living well in France. I don’t feel like talking about it, but one day, I’ll share everything in a live-stream on social media."

Attempts to reach Amanullah Khan, Syed Nabil Ashraf, and Farzana Munni for comment were unsuccessful. The key suspect, Taposh, is currently in jail in connection with the murder of a trader during the anti-discrimination movement in July.