A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced five people, including a bench assistant (peshkar) of another court, to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment for issuing fake bail orders in 2015 by forging signature of a judge.
Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Dhaka Special Judges Court-5 handed down the verdict in the presence of three of the convicts: bench assistant Moslehuddin Bhuiyan, peon Sheikh Md Nayeem and muster-roll clerk Md Ismail Hossain.
The other two accused muster-roll clerks, Alamgir Hossain and Jahangir Hossain, are currently absconding while the rest are in jail.
The court sentenced the convicts to seven years' under Section 463 of the Penal Code and another seven years' under Section 471. It also fined Tk20,000 to each under both sections, defaulting which would earn them another two months of jail time.
In the verdict, the court said the two court staff, Moslehuddin and Nayeem, in collaboration with other three accused, had faked bail orders instead of performing their duties.
It said this verdict would act as an example to others and ensure the transparency and accountability of the court officers and staff.
The court also said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Md Shafi Ullah, the investigation officer of the case, had shown utter negligence during the investigation of the case.
On July 7, 2015, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions judges court’s official Obaidul Karim Akand filed a case with Kotwali police station, accusing the five convicts of forging Judge Samsunnahar Begum's signature on fake bail orders to ensure bail for 106 accused in 76 different cases.
Later, on March 15, 2016, ACC Assistant Director Md Shafi Ullah pressed charges against the five. Though the signatures of 61 lawyers were found in the fake bail bonds, the investigation officer did not press charges against them.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
