A Dhaka court has rejected the bail application of Bidisha Ershad, former wife of the late President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who was sentenced to two years in prison in a fraud case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir passed the order on Wednesday morning, 2 September, following a hearing on Bidisha’s bail petition.
Bidisha was arrested by Gulshan police from the capital’s Gulshan area on the night of 25 August. Police said the arrest was carried out on the basis of the sentence handed down in the fraud case and an arrest warrant issued against her.
The latest court order follows a verdict delivered earlier this year. On 20 May, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jamshed Alam sentenced Bidisha to two years’ imprisonment in the case.
Case dates back to 2008
The case was filed by businessman A.K.M. Mosharraf Hossain Sikder, a resident of Dhaka’s Pallabi area. He lodged the case with Gulshan Police Station in February 2008, alleging that he had paid Bidisha Tk 7.5 million for a flat in the capital’s Baridhara area.
According to the case documents, Mosharraf paid the money to Bidisha on 10 July 2001 after an agreement was reached for the purchase of the flat. Under the agreement, the property was supposed to be handed over to him on 10 July the following year.
The complainant alleged that the flat was not handed over even after the agreed deadline had passed. The dispute subsequently centred on the return of the money that had been paid for the property.
At a later stage, Bidisha allegedly issued a cheque for Tk 7.5 million to repay the amount. However, the cheque was dishonoured on 2 May 2005 because there were insufficient funds in the relevant account, according to the complaint.
The complainant also alleged that when he contacted Bidisha seeking repayment, he was subjected to threats and intimidation.
The allegations formed the basis of the criminal proceedings that continued for years before the case reached its verdict this year.
Arrest followed conviction
Following the two-year prison sentence handed down on 20 May, an arrest warrant was issued against Bidisha. Police subsequently arrested her in Gulshan on 25 August, nearly three months after the verdict.
She later sought bail through the court. During Wednesday’s hearing, her lawyers argued for her release on bail, while the prosecution opposed the application.
After hearing both sides, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge rejected the bail plea.
Bidisha’s legal case dates back more than two decades, beginning with the alleged payment for the Baridhara flat in 2001. The subsequent failure to hand over the property, the disputed repayment cheque and the allegations surrounding attempts to recover the money eventually led to the criminal proceedings.
The rejection of her bail means that, for the time being, she remains subject to the consequences of the two-year prison sentence imposed by the lower court.
