Independent lawmaker and businessperson Haji Mohammad Salim, who went to Thailand for medical treatment on April 30 despite having been convicted in a corruption case, has returned to Bangladesh.
He returned to Dhaka from Bangkok at around 12:45pm on Thursday, the lawmaker’s Personal Secretary Mohammad Billal told Dhaka Tribune.
Upon his return, the Dhaka 7 lawmaker was supposed to first get admitted to a private hospital in the capital and then surrender through his lawyer before a lower court in line with a High Court order, Bangla Tribune reported on Wednesday.
The case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the military-backed caretaker government in 2007 for accumulating wealth worth Tk14.65 crore beyond the known sources of his income.
On February 10, the High Court ordered Haji Salim, the managing director of Madina Group, to surrender within 30 days before the trial court that sentenced him to a 10-year jail term in 2008.
Sources close to the Awami League leader said Haji Salim’s lawyers were preparing documents for his surrender.
Haji Salim has been suffering from various physical ailments including heart disease and diabetes. He consults a specific physician at a Bangkok hospital.
The BNP has criticized the government for allowing a convict to leave the country while barring its chief Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, from getting advanced treatment abroad.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam also wondered how the convicted lawmaker had slipped through the immigration at the airport so easily, terming the incident unusual.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the media that the whole incident of Haji Salim leaving and returning to the country was done as per the law.
The minister said the Dhaka 7 lawmaker was forced to rush to Bangkok for some urgent medical treatment.
He said Haji Salim maintained all order and directives came from the high court in tis regard.
On February 10, the High Court published the full text of its 2021 verdict upholding Haji Salim’s 10-year jail term. The court also scrapped an additional three-year jail term for concealing information regarding his wealth.
On that day, his legal counsel Syed Ahmed Raja said the MP would challenge the sentence at the Appellate Division.
Haji Salim has been suffering from various physical ailments including heart disease and diabetes. He consults a specific physician at a Bangkok hospital.
The sources also said that the MP wanted to stay back in Bangkok for a while but he could not do so due to criticisms in the media that he had left the country secretly.
The BNP has also criticized the government for allowing a convict to leave the country while barring its Chairperson Khaleda Zia, a three-time former premier, from advanced treatment abroad.