Staff Correspondent:

A Dhaka court has rejected the bail plea of model Meghna Alam, who was arrested and is currently in jail in connection with a fraud and extortion case filed at Dhanmondi police station in the capital.

The order was issued on Thursday, following a hearing at the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Masuma Rahman.

According to court sources, Meghna’s defence lawyers, Mohsin Reza, Mahima Badhan and Barrister Sadran Sakib, presented the bail hearing.

They argued that no specific charges had been filed against Meghna Alam and that the allegations were baseless.

They claimed the case was filed solely to defame her and requested bail on the grounds of her gender, emphasizing that she should be granted bail under any conditions.

Earlier, on 17 April, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Masum Miah’s court had ordered Meghna Alam’s arrest after a hearing in the same case.

The charges in the case state that Meghna Alam, along with Dewan Samir and two to three unidentified individuals, is part of an organized fraud ring.

The group allegedly lures foreign diplomats or wealthy businesspeople into illicit relationships with attractive women employed by the ring.

Through various illegal means, the group reportedly extorts money from their targets by threatening to damage their reputations.

Dewan Samir, who is said to be the CEO of a business called Kawai Group and the owner of Sanjana International Manpower, is believed to have been involved in these activities.

The allegations further state that Meghna Alam previously ran a business named Mirai International Event Management Limited, where she recruited attractive, smart women as brand ambassadors.

This provided easy access to foreign diplomats and wealthy businesspeople.

Dewan Samir allegedly used his connections and other business interests to blackmail diplomats, targeting them with the help of accomplices to extort large sums of money.