The New Nation - Internet Edition

Desk Report

The High Court bench of justices Sharifuddin Chaklader and Md Imdadul Haque Azad yesterday granted or extended bail of 14 top corrupt suspects , including nine BNP leaders.

The same bench granted former BNP minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan six months' anticipatory bail in the Barapukuria coalmine corruption case and extended his bail in the GATCO graft case by four months.

The same bench has granted bail to Khaleda, Shamsul Islam, Anwar and Nizami in the Barapukuria coalmine case, over the past two days.

The bench also extended the bail of former BNP minister M Shamsul Islam by another four months in the GATCO graft case.

The same bench granted six months' bail to former BNP lawmaker Salauddin Ahmed who faces nine cases, and Sylhet mayor Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran for as many months in one case.

In the Bashundhara bribery case, the bench granted bail to former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar until Oct 22, and stayed the proceedings against him until that date; it also granted bail to Bashundhara Group director Abu Sufian in the same case for one year.

The HC bench allowed bail and froze the proceedings for three months of a case on charges of amassing ill-gotten wealth against another former BNP lawmaker Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu.

The same bench granted former BNP minister Tariqul Islam two-month bail in a case for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income and stayed the case proceedings for the same period.

It also granted bail to former state minister Amanullah Aman and former Awami League lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumdar, and halted case proceedings for three months against former BNP lawmaker M Ilias Ali. Former Rajshahi mayor Mijanur Rahman Minu and former BNP lawmaker Ali Asgar Lobi also got bail for six months in two separate cases on charges of obtaining ill-gotten wealth.

The bench also halted the proceedings of the cases for the same period.

The same bench granted forestry official Alamgir Md Mahfuzullah Farid bail for six months in a case involving illegal logging.

Meanwhile ,Awami League Religious Affairs Secretary Sheikh M Abdullah was released from Dhaka Central Jail on bail at 8pm yesterday following a High Court order.

Earlier, on August 16 police arrested Abdullah minutes after he was released from jail on bail on charges of breaking the unassailable EPR.