Dhaka: Bangladesh cricket star Rubel Hossain got good news along with his match-winning heroics on Monday at the World Cup as a Bangladeshi actress who filed a rape case against him said on Tuesday she was withdrawing the charges against the medium pacer.
Naznin Akter Happy, 19, made the rape allegation earlier this year after claiming that Rubel had reneged on a promise of marriage that he made while they were having an “intimate affair”, reports Xinhua.The allegation had threatened to scupper Rubel’s chances of appearing in the World Cup after he was remanded in custody by a court in Dhaka.
But he was later granted bail until the end of the World Cup in view of “national interest” as he was a key member of Bangladesh’s team.
Happy said she had decided to forgive her former boyfriend who starred in a dramatic victory over England to reach World Cup quarterfinals on Monday.
“I’ve forgiven him. I am not going to continue the case against him,” Happy said on Tuesday.
In another development a lawyer, who was hired by a Bangladeshi film actress to fight a case against cricketer Rubel Hossain, on Tuesday said he would not stand for his client in view of the fast bowler’s stunning performance against England in the ongoing cricket World Cup, Indian news agency PTI reported.
“From now, I’m no longer (actress) Happy’s lawyer.
Congratulations Bangladesh Cricket Team!!!,” counsel Kumar Debul Dey announced in a Facebook post after Rubel overnight emerged as a national hero by taking a crucial wicket on the last moment helping Bangladesh to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
Dey added: “I want to inform Bangladesh cricket fans that I took Happy’s case as a professional. I no longer wish to fight against Rubel after seeing Bangladesh succeed. Rubel should feel no pressure,” 19-year-old Naznin Akter Happy, a BBA student who recently made her debut in films, had earlier filed a case alleging that Rubel reneged on a promise of marriage after having developed an “intimate relations” with her.
Lawyer Kumar Debul Dey, however, made the announcement after a TV channel reported that Rubel’s match-winning heroics had prompted Happy to withdraw the case against him.
“I’ve forgiven him (Rubel). I am not going to continue the case against him,” Happy told Channel 24 television.
The 25-year-old fast bowler had to languish in jail for days awaiting his trial which could have awarded him the maximum life imprisonment.
According to earlier media reports, the medical tests suggested that Rubel did not force Happy to sleep with him while he repeatedly declined that he developed any relation with the actress with any false promise.
Rubel, however, obtained a bail ahead of Bangladesh team’s trip to Australia after much speculation regarding his appearance in the World Cup following the allegations.
A Dhaka court granted the bail until the end of the World Cup in view of “national interest” as he was a key member of Bangladesh’s team. – News Desk
