The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mamunur Rashid

Tarique Rahman, BNP senior Joint Secretary General and eldest son of detained former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, may be released on bail today, said a prison official.

Inspector General of Prisons, Brig Gen Zakir Hasan said yesterday evening that detainees are not normally released if their papers are not processed by 6:00pm.

Tarique Rahman's wife Zobaida Rahman, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain and other visitors left his bedside at BSMMU Hospital around 8:00pm yesterday signaling that the detained BNP leader would not be released on bail before Wednesday.

However, Zobaida arrived at the hospital at 3:30pm driving past crowds of BNP supporters who had gathered to cheer the elder son of detained party chief Khaleda Zia, in the event of his release.

The IGP said that almost all necessary papers for executing the release of Tarique Rahman had reached his office.

A top prison official said his release order was being prepared for his release soon.

"We are only awaiting the last remaining document now, which may be sent to us any time Tuesday. It is possible that Tarique Rahman will be released Wednesday provided the last bit of paper work is complete and it reaches us," Hasan said yesterday morning. The law-enforcement agencies arrested Tarique on March 8, 2007. He is currently under treatment in a prisons cell at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital.

As many as 16 cases have been filed against Tarique, one case involving Daily Dinkal has been disposed of, while he got bail in 12 on-trial cases. Authorities are yet to press charges in three other cases. The High Court on August 25 granted him six months' interim bail in a Tk 1 crore extortion case and on August 26, another four months' bail in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.

Tarique got bail in five cases on August 27, of which three involved extortion charges, one on income tax dodging and another on illegally acquired assets.

On August 28, when the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case involving the suppression of Sabbir murder for which Tarique allegedly took huge sums of money, he got bails in all the 12 cases against him.

Officials and his lawyers then said his release was only a matter of time.