40 criminals, out on forged bail, still at large

A total of 40 criminal suspects accused in 30 arms and narcotics cases are still on the run – over two years after they were bailed out from prison on bonds forged by corrupt court staff members. A total of 106 suspects accused in 76 criminal cases pending with the Dhaka Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court were released from jail against fake bail bonds forged by court staff members in the first five months of 2015. Of these, 66 have so far surrendered following a directive from the court. But one member of the court staff who wished to remain anonymous said the remaining 40 accused were “still roaming scot-free, taking advantage of the negligence and inaction by the law enforcement agencies”. Public Prosecutor SM Zahid Sarder of the Dhaka Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court confirmed that the absconding suspects had managed to come out of prison through fake bail orders. “[They] never appeared before the court and they are still at large as the police are not arresting them,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. The allegation of negligence was refuted by Anisur Rahman, the deputy commissioner (prosecution) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. “We have sent the arrest warrants to the police stations concerned, and police teams are conducting drives to nab them,” he said. Of the 106 suspects, 10 were released in January, 20 in February, 20 in March, 16 in April, and 40 in May 2015. Obaidul Karim Akando, an official of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges' Court, filed a case with Kotwali police station on July 12, 2015 against two court staff members for issuing fake bail orders by forging the signature of a judge of the court. After an investigation, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted a charge sheet accusing bench assistant Moslehuddin Bhuiyan, peon Sheikh Mohammad Naim, master-roll clerks Mohammad Ismail Hossain, Alamgir Hossain, and Jahangir Hossain. On March 22 this year, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Dhaka Special Judges Court-5 sentenced the five court staffers to 14 years' imprisonment in the forgery case.