Staff Reporter: A Dhaka court has issued an order to advance trial proceedings against three officials from Wipro Limited, Zimi Distribution in a deception case.
MF Consumer Limited, a concern of the Multimode Group, filed the fraud case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Begum Shanta Akter on Wednesday formally framed charges against the officials after a hearing.
The court said it will set a new date for the testimony of witnesses, underscoring the importance of gathering pertinent evidence in the legal process.
The three accused are Vivek Vaid, country head of Wipro in Bangladesh, Priyadarshi Ranjan, business head of Wipro in South Asia, and Kazi Ziaul Hasan, proprietor of Zimi Distribution.
The court turned down the bail pleas submitted by the three officials, and asked them to appear before the court during the next hearing, said MF Consumer’s lawyer Mosleuddin Jashim.
Advocate Mohammad Ibrahim, representing the accused, said the court has rejected their plea dismiss the charges, clearing the way for the start of the trial.
In the lawsuit, filed with the Kalabagan police station in the capital in December 2022, the plaintiff alleged unauthorised imports, manipulation of product expiry dates, and fraud by Wipro in Bangladesh. MF Consumer, Wipro’s distributor, also claimed the company has not settled outstanding claims.
MF Consumer had a two-year exclusive distributorship agreement with Wipro, signed in November 2012, to sell its Santoor, Chandrika, Enchanteur, and Yardley consumer care products.
According to MF Consumer officials, they repeatedly requested Wipro to settle the outstanding claims and renew the agreement, but were assured every time a settlement and renewal was forthcoming.
MF Consumer said after realising Wipro was killing time and appointed a new distributor; it sent a legal notice, demanding around Tk6 crore in November 2021.
Wipro initially attempted to have the case dismissed in the High Court, but appeals to the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division were unsuccessful. The High Court allowed the case to proceed in December 2023.
