Actor Zaher Alvi granted bail in abetment to suicide case

The High Court has granted bail to small-screen actor Zaher Alvi, also known as Md Niamat Ullah Bhuiyan, in a case filed over abetting the suicide of his wife Afra Ibnat Ikra. With the court order, there is no legal bar to his release from custody.

A High Court bench comprising Justice K M Zahid Sarwar and Justice Sheikh Abu Taher granted his bail on Sunday (August 2). The matter was confirmed by the relevant court sources on Monday (August 3).

Earlier, on June 30, after the end of a two-day remand, when Zaher Alvi was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka, police applied to keep him in jail custody until the investigation was completed. After the hearing, the court ordered him to be sent to jail.

On June 18, he had surrendered and applied for bail, but it was rejected. Later, when a remand application was filed in the interest of the investigation, the court granted a two-day remand.

According to the case's first information report (FIR), on February 28, Zaher Alvi's wife Afra Ibnat Ikra was found hanging at their residence in the DOHS area of Mirpur in the capital. She was taken to Kurmitola General Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

The day after the incident, Ikra's father Kabir Hayat Khan filed a case with Pallabi Police Station. The complaint stated that Afra Ibnat Ikra was forced to commit suicide due to prolonged marital discord and mental torture. Zaher Alvi and Ikra were married in 2010. They have a son.