Awami League lawmaker Major General (Retd) Shubid Ali Bhuiyan was sued in a defamation case today for calling former President Ziaur Rahman the first president of Bangladesh.

Mohammad Zilani Sarkar, a Jubo League activist, filed the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka against the AL leader demanding Tk 5,000 crore as compensation for his comment.

After the hearing, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Shikder asked officer-in-charge (investigation) of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station to investigate into the allegation and to submit by October 13 a probe report on the issue.

According to the case statement, Shubid Ali, also the chairman of parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry, at a meeting on August 17 said Ziaur Rahman, late president and founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was the first president of the country.

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As the issue came to his notice through newspapers on August 18, Zilani Sarker, a Juba League leader in Daudkandi of Comilla district, today filed the case saying he cannot support the comment as a member of a family of freedom fighter, the case statement said.

The lawmaker, not only dishonoured the father of the nation but also hit the nation’s sentiment, and violated its constitution which is tantamount to Tk 5,000 crore as financial loss, the statement added.

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Shubid Ali Bhuiyan was elected AL lawmaker from the Comilla-1 constituency for two consecutive times.