Shomi Kaiser granted bail in attempted murder case

The High Court has granted bail to Shomi Kaiser, the former president of the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB) and a popular actress, in an attempted murder case linked to the shooting of a student during the anti-discrimination student movement.

A High Court bench granted her bail after hearing the case on Monday (August 11).

Shomi Kaiser was arrested on April 8 this year from a house in Uttara, Dhaka. The following day, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka issued an arrest warrant for Zubair Hasan Yusuf, a student at Tongi Government College, in connection with the attempted murder.

The case stems from an incident on August 4, when Zubair, a first-year honors student, was shot in the left shoulder while participating in an anti-discrimination movement. He was treated in the hospital and later recovered. Zubair filed a case on August 22, naming 11 individuals, including Shomi Kaiser, as a suspected perpetrator.

The incident took place following an earlier shooting on July 18, where businessman Ishtiaq Mahmud was targeted. Shomi Kaiser had been arrested in a separate case related to that incident on September 29, 2022, and released on bail in December 2022.

Shomi Kaiser, the daughter of martyred intellectual Shahidullah Kaiser and former MP Panna Kaiser, has been criticized for allegedly leveraging her political ties within the Awami League, especially during protests and movements.