Samrat gets bail in ACC case
A Dhaka court has granted bail to expelled Jubo League Dhaka South unit president Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for possessing wealth beyond the known source of income.
The court of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman pronounced the order on Wednesday, confirmed public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kazal to Prothom Alo.
The ACC’s public prosecutor said the court has granted the bail until 9 June considering his illness. The court has granted the bail on one condition that Samrat cannot go abroad without any order of the court. He has to submit his passport to the court, he added.
Mosharraf Hossain Kazal further said ACC submitted its points before the court for not considering the bail plea. But the court granted the bail after hearing from both sides.
With this, Samrat has secured bail in all four cases against him. Currently he is in jail.
The court fixed 9 June as the date for his indictment hearing in the case filed by the ACC.
Earlier, on 11 April, Samrat got bail in a case filed under the narcotics control act with Ramna police station in the capital. Dhaka’s Seventh Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court granted the bail.
Before that, on 10 April, the former Jubo League leader got bail in two separate cases filed under the money laundering and the arms acts. Two separate courts in Dhaka granted the bail after hearing that day.
Earlier, on 6 October in 2019, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Samrat and his associate Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla.
RAB later raided his Kakrail office that day. Huge quantities of foreign liquor, pistols, and two hides of kangaroo were seized from his office.
He was later sentenced by a mobile court to six months in prison under the Wildlife Conservation Act and was sent to jail the same day.
On 7 October, Abdul Khaleque, Deputy Assistant Director of RAB-1 filed two cases against Samrat at Ramna police station under the Arms and the Narcotics Act. Arman was also made accused in the narcotic case.
Later, two separate cases were filed against him under the money laundering and the arms acts at Ramna police station. Police’s CID filed another case against him under the money laundering act on allegation of siphoning over Tk 1.95 billion (195 crore) to Malaysia and Singapore while ACC filed the case for possessing wealth beyond the source of his income.
On 12 November 2019, ACC filed a case against him for acquiring assets worth Tk 29.48 million beyond his known sources of income.
ACC filed the charge sheet before the court on 26 November 2020 alleging possessing wealth of Tk 2.2 billion (222 crore 88 lakh 62 thousand and 493) beyond the known source of his income.