Baul singer Rita Dewan indicted in DSA case

Rita Dewan

A Dhaka tribunal yesterday framed charges against Baul singer Rita Dewan and two others in a case filed for making "derogatory comments" about religion and hurting people's sentiment during a performance.

The two others are Md Shahjahan and Md Iqbal Hossain.

The three accused, now on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice after Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal read out the charges to them, Shamim Al Mamun, bench assistant of the tribunal, told The Daily Star.

Earlier in the day, the judge rejected three petitions submitted for discharging them from the case, he said. The tribunal also set January 27 for starting the trial. During yesterday's hearing, Rita, Shahjahan and Iqbal were present in the court.

On February 2 last year, Advocate Imrul Hasan filed the case against Rita Dewan

with the same tribunal under the Digital Security Act.

According to the case documents, Rita Dewan was performing a "Pala Gaan" with fellow artiste Shah Alam Sarkar, where the topic being debated was "Living Beings versus The Greatest". The event was held on the night of December 10, 2019 at the residence of one  Shahjahan Kabir in Kalihati upazila in Tangail.

Accused Shahjahan and Iqbal had uploaded Rita's songs to their YouTube channels, the case documents said.

Another video also surfaced where Rita Dewan, along with her two daughters, was shown apologising for the matter that day.