Graft case: Verdict against SK Sinha, 10 others deferred again
A Dhaka court has deferred the pronouncement of verdict in a corruption case filed against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others over laundering Tk 4 crore.
On Thursday, Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 fixed 9 November as the new date for delivering the verdict.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Mir Ahmed Ali Salam told the media the verdict has not been prepared yet hence the judge has fixed a new date.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Until the verdict, the bail of the defendants has been upheld, said their lawyer Shahinur Islam Oni.
Earlier on 5 October, judge Mohammad Ali Hossain of the same court had fixed 21 October (Thursday) as the new date for delivering the verdict.
Apart from SK Sinha, the other accused in the case are - former managing director of Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank) AKM Shamim, senior executive vice president Gazi Salahuddin, first vice-president Swapan Kumar Roy, senior vice-president Md Ziauddin Ahmed, first vice-president Safiuddin Ashkari, vice-president Md Lutful Haque, Tangail residents Md Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, Ranjit Chandra Saha and, his wife, Santri Roy.
Another accused named Md Ziauddin Ahmed has been acquitted as he passed away. Among the accused, SK Sinha, Safiuddin Ashkari, Ranjit Chandra Saha and, his wife, Santri Roy are absconding.
According to the case statement, the accused arranged a fake loan of Tk 4 crore from the Gulshan branch of the erstwhile Farmers Bank and transferred it to SK Sinha's personal account through pay-order.
SK Sinha later transferred the amount to another account in cash, cheques and pay-orders, which is a punishable offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
On 10 July 2019, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director Syed Iqbal Hossain filed the case at the Commission's District Integrated Office, Dhaka-1, alleging transfer and embezzlement of Tk 4 crore from Farmers Bank to a personal bank account.
In December that year, ACC Director Benazir Ahmed filed a charge sheet in the case.
On 5 January 2020, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes received the charge sheet.
Later, on 13 August, the court framed the charges.
