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Manikganj, May 22, 2025: Former Member of Parliament and renowned folk singer Momtaz Begum, representing Manikganj-2 (Singair and Harirampur), was brought to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Manikganj on charges related to murder and assault cases. She was presented in court on Thursday at 8:30 AM. Prior to this, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka had sent her to Kashimpur Central Jail after a four-day remand period for interrogation.
Momtaz Begum entered politics in 2008 as a member of the Awami League and was nominated as a Member of Parliament for a reserved women’s seat in the ninth national parliament that same year. She was elected as an MP from Manikganj-2 in the tenth national election in 2014 and became the president of the Singair Upazila Awami League in 2015. She won again in the eleventh national election in 2018. However, in the twelfth national election in 2024, she was defeated by the Awami League’s independent candidate Zahid Ahmed Tulu. She currently holds the position of president of the Singair Upazila Awami League. Her stepson is the mayor of Singair Municipality, and her nephew, Shahidur Rahman, serves as the general secretary of the upazila Awami League.
Allegations against Momtaz Begum include establishing dominance in her constituency during the Awami League government’s tenure, engaging in extortion in the transport sector, tender manipulation, recruitment irregularities, and other forms of corruption. She also faced widespread criticism for controversial remarks about Ziaur Rahman in parliament and for singing during a parliamentary session.
She is the prime accused in a murder case filed at Singair Police Station related to the killing of four individuals during a protest march in 2013, as well as in an assault, battery, and vandalism case filed at Harirampur Police Station. Additionally, she faces multiple charges, including murder and attempted murder, in various police stations in Dhaka. She was arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) Police from a residence in Dhanmondi on the night of May 12.
AI/MR
