The bail application of former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s former wife Bidisha Ershad has been rejected in a case filed over alleged fraud in the sale of a flat, meaning she will remain in jail.
Dhaka Bar Association President Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan and several other lawyers appeared for Bidisha before Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Shahjahan Kabir on Wednesday, seeking bail.
Advocate Hemayet Uddin Khan Hiron, representing the plaintiff, opposed the bail petition.
After the hearing, the court rejected the application, Bidisha’s lawyer Moniruzzaman Sabuj said.
“We sought bail on the condition that she would file an appeal. However, the court rejected the application. We will move the High Court and seek justice there,” he said.
On May 20, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam sentenced Bidisha to two years in prison and fined her Tk10,000, with an additional month in jail in default.
As Bidisha was absconding, the court issued an arrest warrant and a warrant for her imprisonment.
Police arrested her from a restaurant in Gulshan at around 8:30pm on August 25 based on the warrant. She was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka the following day.
Before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid, her lawyers sought bail on the condition that she would appeal against the conviction. The court rejected the application and ordered her to be sent to jail.
Case details
Businessman Mosharraf Hossain Sikder filed the case with Gulshan police station in 2008, alleging fraud in the sale of a flat at President Park in Baridhara.
According to the case statement, Mosharraf was looking to purchase a flat in Baridhara. Through acquaintances, he learned about Bidisha, who showed him a flat at President Park on July 1, 2001, and offered to sell it.
The two parties subsequently reached an agreement to sell the flat for Tk80 lakh, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that on July 10, 2001, Bidisha called Mosharraf to the Rajnigandha office in Banani and asked him to provide a Tk75 lakh pay order in the name of her nominee and friend Abdul Razzak.
Mosharraf allegedly paid the amount through Standard Chartered Bank’s Kawran Bazar branch. A memorandum of understanding was subsequently signed between the parties.
Under the agreement, the flat was to be registered after payment of the remaining amount and approval from the Capital Development Authority (Rajuk). However, the plaintiff alleged that the flat was not handed over even after a considerable period, despite being promised by July 10, 2002.
The complaint states that when Mosharraf pressed for the flat to be handed over, Bidisha allegedly promised to return the money.
On February 9, 2005, she allegedly issued a cheque for Tk72 lakh. However, when the cheque was deposited, it was dishonoured due to insufficient funds in the account.
The plaintiff alleged that Bidisha subsequently delayed the matter on various pretexts and failed to return the money or hand over the flat. He also alleged that she threatened to have him killed by hired criminals.