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Download PDF The High Court (HC) yesterday granted ad interim bail to Tarique Rahman, senior joint secretary general of the BNP, in two extortion cases while another division bench issued a ruling on the government to explain why detention order against him should not be declared illegal.
A Dhaka court, meantime, set December 6 to pass judgment on a seven-day remand prayer for Tarique in another case.
TARIQUE’S BAIL
The division bench of Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury granted the ad interim bail to Tarique, reports UNB.
The court also issued a ruling upon the government to explain in a week why placing the two extortion cases under the Emergency Power Rules should not be declared illegal.
Despite the bail, Tarique is unlikely to walk out of prison as he is accused in a string of other corruption cases along with the detention order, said Mahbubuddin Khokon, a counsel for Tarique.
The two cases were filed with Shahbagh and Dhanmondi police stations in April.
TARIQUE-HANNAN SHAH
Another division bench of Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana and Justice M Abu Tariq yesterday ruled on the government to explain why detention orders against Tarique and Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah, adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, should not be declared illegal, reports UNB.
The court orders followed separate petitions by Tarique and Hannan challenging the validity of detentions against them under the Special Powers Act.
The government put Tarique in detention under Special Powers Act following his arrest on March 7. Hannan Shah was served with a 30-day detention order on November 25 after his arrest.
Earlier on November 22, Hannan secured ad interim bail from the High Court. He is accused of violating the Emergency Power Rules and assaulting a top party dissident, Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, on November 7.
TARIQUE’S REMAND
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Rabbani fixed December 6 to give decision on remand prayer for Tarique in connection with concealing information in his wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, reports our court correspondent.
The investigation officer in his forwarding report explained to the court why Tarique should be remanded after the BNP leader was turned in before the court under tight security at 11:05am.
The IO wrote that Tarique needs to be questioned to discover the sources of his Tk 55 lakh bank deposits with Banani branches of Prime Bank and Dhaka Bank, plots at Basundhara and in Gazipur and other relevant matters.
Defence lawyers, on the other hand, submitted a petition for cancellation of the remand prayer arguing that their client was implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass him. They said the reason for the remand prayer was baseless.
The court then asked the defence lawyers, after long hearing on the issue, to submit an affidavit stating that the charges brought against their client are false, fabricated and concocted, which the defence followed.
At one stage, the court told Tarique’s lawyers that the investigation officer should be given the opportunity to probe the matter independently this time as the past government had made the Anti-Corruption Commission a dysfunctional entity which is why no probe reports were submitted for years.
Two other accused in this case are Tarique’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbalmand Banu.
ACC Deputy Director Zahirul Huda filed the case with Kafrul Police Station on September 26, accusing Tarique of concealing information on assets worth over Tk 4.23 crore in his June 10 wealth statement to the anti-corruption watchdog and amassing an estimated Tk 4.82 crore wealth illegally.
The BNP leader handed in his statement through the jail authorities, showing that he, his wife and daughter own Tk 1.37 crore in assets.
He was earlier remanded for 10 days in four extortion cases — he is accused in seven such cases — filed with Shahbagh, Gulshan and Kafrul police stations on different dates.
The joint forces arrested him on March 7 at his mother’s cantonment residence and he has since been detained in Dhaka Central Jail.
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