Bidisha Ershad, who was sentenced to two years in prison in a fraud case, was released on bail from Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail in Gazipur on Tuesday afternoon.
The former wife of former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad walked out of the jail around 5:15pm, Senior Jail Superintendent (additional charge) Md Nazrul Islam said.
“Bidisha’s bail documents reached the jail on Tuesday morning. After verifying the documents, she was released. She left the jail around 5:15pm,” he said.
The High Court granted Bidisha bail on Sunday after hearing a petition filed by her lawyer.
The bench of Justice Md Khairul Alam and Justice Md Rafizul Islam passed the order.
Bidisha was arrested around 8:30pm on August 25 from a restaurant in Gulshan, Dhaka, in the fraud case after a court sentenced her to two years in prison.
She was produced before a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate court the following day. The court rejected her bail petition and ordered her to be sent to jail, where she remained until Tuesday.
On May 20, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate court sentenced Bidisha to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in a case filed over allegations of fraud involving the sale of a flat.
The court also fined her Tk10,000, with one month’s imprisonment in default of payment.
As Bidisha was absent when the verdict was delivered, the court issued a warrant for her arrest to serve the sentence.
Bidisha appealed against the trial court’s verdict before the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court and sought bail.
After hearing the petition, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Shahjahan Kabir rejected her bail application on September 2.
She subsequently moved the High Court challenging the order and seeking bail. She was later arrested and sent to jail.