Latif Siddiqui denied bail

Former textiles and jute minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui will have to remain in jail as the High Court on Sunday denied bail to him in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), reports UNB.

The HC bench of justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order when Latif's lawyer filed a petition seeking bail for him.

Senior lawyer Yusuf Hossain Humayun stood for Latif Siddiqui while deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik and assistant attorney general Helena Begum China represented the state and lawyer Omar Faruk argued for the ACC.

On 20 June, a Bogura court sent Latif Siddiqui to jail rejecting his bail plea in the case.

On 18 February last, ACC assistant director Md Aminul Islam submitted the charge-sheet against him in the corruption case.

According to the case statement, Latif Siddiqui sold 2.38 acres of land of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation at Dariapur village in Adamdighi upazila to Begum Jahanara without any tender for just Tk 2.3 million, which was just over one-thirds of its market value said to have been Tk 6.4 million at the time.

A corruption case was filed with Adamdighi police station accusing Siddiqui and Jahanara on 17 October, 2017 for incurring a loss of over Tk 4 million to the public exchequer.