A Dhaka court on Thursday granted bail to Regent Hospital and Regent Group Chairman Mohammad Shahed Karim in a fraud case filed over allegations of receiving construction materials worth Tk1 crore without making payment.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order after a hearing on July 30.
Shahed’s lawyer Mohammad Dabir Uddin confirmed the matter, saying the court granted him a 10-day bail against a Tk5,000 bond on the condition of reaching a settlement with the complainant. However, he will not be released immediately as he is facing other cases.
The case was filed on 13 July 2020 by Md Saifullah Masud, proprietor of Messrs Masud Enterprise.
According to the complaint, Shahed had been receiving construction materials from the firm since 2018. Although he initially made some cash payments, he later issued four cheques from Prime Bank worth a total of Tk1 crore for the supplies. The cheques were later dishonoured due to insufficient funds, the complaint said.
The complainant further alleged that Shahed repeatedly delayed payment despite being informed about the dishonoured cheques. On June 26, 2020, when the complainant went to demand payment, Shahed allegedly refused to pay and threatened him with death if he continued to press for the money. A general diary was later filed with Uttara West Police Station over the incident.
Meanwhile, Shahed was shown arrested in the case over the alleged fraud involving the unpaid Tk1 crore.
On July 20, Pallabi police arrested him from the ECB Chattar area in Dhaka in connection with a cheque dishonour case involving a Tk2.16 crore cheque issued by Mercantile Cooperative Bank.
Shahed has been in jail since his arrest. He faces more than 35 cases, including charges related to fraud, illegal arms possession and acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income. On 28 September 2020, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in an arms case.
After securing bail in several cases, Shahed was released from prison on September4, 2024 after spending nearly four years behind bars.