High Court grants Bidisha bail in fraud case, no bar to release

The High Court has granted bail to Bidisha Siddique, former wife of late president and Jatiya Party founding chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad, in a fraud case, clearing the way for her release, lawyers said.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Khairul Alam and Justice Md Rafizul Islam passed the order on Sunday.

Earlier, on May 20, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate’s court sentenced Bidisha to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in the case filed over the sale of a flat.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam also fined her Tk10,000, with one month’s imprisonment in default. The court issued a warrant for her arrest after she was absent when the verdict was announced.

On August 26, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid ordered Bidisha to be sent to jail following a hearing in the case.

The case was filed on February 7, 2008, by businessman Mosharraf Hossain.

According to the complaint, Mosharraf, an importer and sanitary products businessman based in Mirpur-10, contacted Bidisha in 2001 to purchase a flat.

The complaint said they later reached an agreement for the sale of a flat at President Park in Baridhara for Tk80 lakh.