Barisal: A Barisal court on Sunday quashed the much-talked-about defamation case against UNO Gazi Tariq Salmon filed for publishing a ‘distorted photo’ of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the invitation card issued on the occasion of Independence Day.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Kumar passed the order after the hearing on a petition filed by plaintiff Obaidullah Saju, a recently suspended religious affairs secretary of Barisal district unit of Awami League, seeking cancellation of the case proceedings.

In his petition, Saju, also the Barisal Bar Council president, said after filing the case he realised that the Bangabandhu’s portrait was not ‘distorted’.

‘Even I wasn’t aware that it (photo) was drawn by a child,’ he added in the petition.

Senior officials of Barisal division and district administration were present at the courtroom during the hearing.

However, UNO Salmon, who was transferred to Barguna Sadar upazila from his previous work station Agailijhara upazila after the incident, was not there during the hearing.

The Bangabandhu’s portrait, which was drawn by a child in a painting competition organised by then UNO in Agailjhara upazila Salmon of Barisal district on the occasion of National Children’s Day marking the birthday of the Father of the Nation on 17 March, was used in the invitation card.

Following the incident, Obaidullah Saju filed the Tk 5-crore defamation case against the UNO on charge of publishing a ‘distorted’ photo of Bangabandhu in the invitation card on the occasion of the Independence Day.

On July 19 last, Barisal CMM court sent UNO Salmon to jail after he surrendered before it in compliance with its order and sought bail in the defamation case.

Salmon was granted bail on a bond of Tk 10,000, hours after he landed in jail.

As the incident sparked off huge public outcry throughout the country, Awami League suspended Obaidullah Saju on Friday for filing the Tk 5 crore defamation case over enthusiastically.