The High Court yesterday granted bail to young entrepreneur Jannati Hossain, who had been detained over the death of her business partner Mostamsir Ashraf in a road accident in July last year, clearing the way for her release from jail.
The bench of Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque gave the order after hearing on a bail petition, in the murder case filed by Mostamsir’s family.
The court said although there was no evidence of planned killing in this case, the trial court would examine whether there was any element of murder charge in it.
Jannati’s lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder told the Dhaka Tribune that there was no legal bar to the release of his client.
On July 11 last year, Jannati crashed Mostamsir’s car into a parked police van right after descending from the Mohakhali flyover. Mostamsir, who was beside her, was gravely injured and died on the way to hospital. Jannati and three law enforcers who were inside the van were also injured in the accident. Tejgaon police detained and sued her for reckless driving.
Mostamsir was the son of Khan Mohammad Abdul Mannan, a former district court judge now serving as the inspector general of registration (land). Eleven days after the accident, Mostamsir’s uncle lodged the murder case against Jannati and four of her family members, alleging that the five had murdered Mostamsir in a planned way to take over business. The court later ordered investigators to merge the two cases against her.
The plaintiff, however, did not mention how Mostamsir had been murdered. According to the post mortem report, he died in an accident and police said his seat belt was not fastened.
“The police are first-hand witnesses to the accident and they have said in their report that it was an accident. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority report stated that the car suffered a mechanical failure,” Jannati’s lawyer Mizan Mollah had said.
Jannati was denied bail by the lower courts several times and then her family members had moved the High Court for bail.
In November and December, judges of two High Court benches felt embarrassed to hear Jannati’s bail petitions.
On December 10, another bench comprising Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam issued a rule on the authorities concerned to explain in two weeks why Jannati should not be granted bail in the murder case.
Jannati and Mostamsir launched Echo Sparks, a music cafe and gaming zone in Uttara, in December 2013.
On the other hand, Jannati and her husband founded Velocity, a car modification company. She also became managing editor of automobile magazine Torque.
Ever since Jannati landed in jail, her family has been alleging that she was denied bail and remanded as Mostamsir’s family is influential. Mostamsir’s uncle Hannan Khan, the complainant, however, denied the allegations, saying that he wanted a proper investigation and would accept whatever came out.