Meher Afroz Shaon, wife of famous novelist and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed Tuesday filed a case against two people for embezzling the paintings of her husband.
The case was filed in the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain under Section 406/411/420/34 of the Penal Code.
The court accepted her case and directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the case and submit a report by August 29.
The accused in the case are Ruma Chowdhury and her husband Manjurul Azim Palash.
According to the lawsuit, Humayun Ahmed went to Jamaica, New York, USA in 2012 for cancer treatment. There he drew several paintings of his son Nishad. At that time Ruma Chowdhury and her ex-husband Biswajit Saha became close to the writer. At that time, Humayun Ahmed gave 24 of his paintings to the accused for the purpose of exhibition in condition that they would return those paintings after the exhibition ends.
Ruma Chowdhury and Biswajit Saha’s aim was to sell the paintings and get commission. When Humayun Ahmed was offered this, he rejected it. Humayun Ahmed made it clear to the accused that he had drawn the paintings for the pleasure of himself and his son Nishad. Not for profit by selling. At that time, Ruma Chowdhury spread a rumor that 4 of those 24 pictures were lost.
The statement further said that Shaon returned to Bangladesh after Humayun Ahmed died. She asked Ruma Chowdhury and Biswajit Saha to return the paintings. Despite repeated requests, they began to hesitate to return. Later, with the help of actor Asaduzzaman Noor and various cultural figures, they returned 20 paintings to Humayun Ahmed’s mother Ayesha Fayez. Biswajit Saha and Ruma Chowdhury later got separated in February 2013. Ruma married Manjurul Azim Palash in 2015 and moved to Comilla.
On March 31, Manjurul Azim Palash posted an advertised about an art exhibition of LinkBangla in Comilla on his Facebook. The exhibition, held from April 1 to 10, featured a painting by Humayun Ahmed which is one of the four lost paintings by Humayun Ahmed.
