A Dhaka court Sunday issued a show cause against defendants DBC News, its Managing Director and Chief Editor and one Mariam Akter (alias Asma Akter), a press release said.
The notice asked the defendants to show cause as to why they should not be barred from continuing publishing and/or broadcasting defamatory news videos in DBC’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, News Channel and Website and be directed to delete the scheduled videos permanently.
The court further asked the Defendants to show cause as to why the Defendants should not be restrained from broadcasting defamatory news against the Plaintiffs further in their Facebook page, YouTube channel, website, TV channel.
The Court of 4th Joint District Judge, Dhaka passed the order upon an application made by Mauritian RMG company Firemount Textiles Ltd and its Director Anil Kohli.
Barrister A.M. Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Barrister Saqeb Mahbub of leading law firm Mahbub & Company, acted as legal counsel of Firemount Textiles Ltd. and Anil Kohli.
Earlier, a defamation suit of TK 85 Crores was filed in a Dhaka court against Dhaka Bangla Media & Communication Ltd., the owning company of DBC News and Mariam Akter alias Asma Akter, for airing false news against Anil Kohli, the Managing Director of Firemount Textiles Ltd. The Mauritian entrepreneur is a key employer for Bangladeshi workers abroad and has hired more than 10,000 workers over the past 10 years.
On 17 June 2021, the DBC News has broadcasted a news report titled “মৌরিশাসে কি হচ্ছে বাংলাদেশি নারী কর্মীদের সাথে!” (What’s happening in Mauritius with Bangladeshi women workers!) defaming Anil Kohli along with 3 other Bangladeshi nationals for their involvement in the alleged rape of a Bangladeshi woman reported as “Asma Aktar” who was employed at the company around 16 months back. Almost a week later on 22 June 2021, DBC has re-broadcasted the news in English in their English bulletin and that was subsequently uploaded to their YouTube channel with the title “What is happening in Mauritius with Bangladeshi women workers? (YouTube Video Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAy5QbWLs0k) and the Facebook page “dbcnews.tv” (Facebook page Link -https://www.facebook.com/dbcnews.tv/) in the form of a video titled “What is happening in Mauritius with Bangladeshi women workers?” (Facebook video link: https://fb.watch/6hybr3S5HX).
In summary, the video states that an expatriate woman fictitiously named in the news report as “Asma Aktar” has been allegedly raped by Anil Kohli, along with Shah Alam, an Associate of Anil Kohli, employed at Firemount Textiles Ltd, and two other Bangladesh nationals in Mauritius. The news further alleged that after the rape and torture she has returned to Bangladesh and filed a complaint before the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. The news report highlighted that the investigation of the alleged incident has begun, and a specific allegation has been brought against Anil Kohli by showing a picture of him in the news report. The news report further stated that the victim has been reported missing by Firemount on 26.11.2020 but at that time the victim was in Mauritius and was kept hidden in a place to suppress the alleged torture and rape.
The report is made with a malafide intention to adversely affect Kohli’s global reputation, goodwill and to portray a false impression in the minds of the viewers and have created the news report with falsity and without verifying the actual facts. The news report broadcasted that Shah Alom was an associate of Anil, when in truth, the said Shah Alom was not an employee but managing an independent catering company named Sha Trade N Marketing Ltd. and had been supplying food to the Bangladeshi workers in the canteen of Firemount. In February 2020, Shah Alom met Asma in the factory and started living together from early March 2020. From April 2020, they started having arguments on trivial matters, which led Asma to eventually start spreading a manufactured and forged story in the media.
A legal notice was served to DBC News on 30 June 2021 by stating the report as false and to remove it from all platforms and publish the truth. But DBC News neither replied nor acted on it which leads Firemount and Anil to believe that it was a deliberate attempt and hence the lawsuit of defamation. Firemount Textiles Ltd. is one of the most reputable textile factories based in Mauritius and has been a trusted business entity in Mauritius as well as globally for long. Anil Kohli has a high standing in Mauritius as a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
