Former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s former wife Bidisha Ershad has been sent to jail in a fraud case involving the sale of a flat, in which she was sentenced to two years in prison.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid rejected her bail petition and ordered her to be sent to jail on Wednesday, said Public Prosecutor Syed Golam Mortuza Ibn Islam.*
On May 20, the same court sentenced Bidisha to two years in prison and fined her Tk10,000, with an additional one month in jail if she failed to pay the fine.
As Bidisha had been absconding, the court issued an arrest warrant along with a warrant for execution of the sentence.
Gulshan police station Officer-in-Charge Daud Hossain said she was arrested from a restaurant around 8:30pm on Tuesday based on the warrant.
Gulshan police produced her before the court around 11am on Wednesday and sought an order to keep her in jail.
She was kept in the CMM court lockup during the proceedings.
Bail plea
Bidisha’s lawyer Atikur Rahman sought bail on special consideration, on the condition that she would appeal against the verdict.
“There was a stay order from the High Court in the case. Later, it was vacated. The trial was held and the verdict was delivered in her absence. We are seeking her bail on the condition of filing an appeal,” he said.
Opposing the bail plea, complainant’s lawyer Advocate Hemenayet Uddin Khan (Hiron) said the case had been pending for 25 years.
“She has shown disrespect to the court. Despite being informed, she did not appear before the court. We oppose her bail and seek that she be kept in jail,” he said.
Public prosecutor Syed Golam Mortuza Ibn Islam also opposed the bail plea.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected the bail petition and ordered that Bidisha be sent to jail.
Bidisha was not brought into the courtroom during the hearing.
The case
Businessman Mosharraf Hossain Sikder filed the case with Gulshan police station in 2008, alleging fraud over the sale of a flat at President Park in Baridhara.
According to the case statement, Mosharraf wanted to buy a flat in Baridhara. After receiving information through an intermediary, Bidisha, Ershad’s second wife, showed him a flat at President Park on July 1, 2001, and offered to sell it.
An agreement was subsequently reached to sell the flat for Tk80 lakh.
The complaint said Bidisha called Mosharraf to the Rajanigandha office in Banani on July 10, 2001, and asked him to issue a Tk75 lakh pay order in the name of her nominated person and friend, Abdul Razzak.
Mosharraf paid the amount through Standard Chartered Bank’s Kawran Bazar branch. A deed of agreement was later executed between the two parties.
Under the agreement, the flat was to be registered in Mosharraf’s name after RAJUK approval was obtained and the remaining amount was paid.
The complainant alleged that although the flat was supposed to be handed over by July 10, 2002, it was not handed over even after a considerable period had passed.
According to the case statement, when Mosharraf pressured Bidisha to hand over the flat, she assured him that she would return the money.
On February 9, 2005, she allegedly issued a cheque for Tk72 lakh. However, the cheque was dishonored when it was deposited due to insufficient funds in the account.
Mosharraf alleged that Bidisha continued to delay matters on various pretexts and handed over neither the money nor the flat. He also alleged that she threatened to have him killed through criminals.
