Henolux owner gets bail in a case over contractor's suicide

Fatema Amin, director of the manufacturing company Henolux, has secured bail from the High Court in a case over contractor Anisur Rahman alias Gazi Anis's death by suicide.

Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Mohammad Showkat Ali Chowdhury granted her bail on Monday.

Fatema is the wife of Nurul Amin, managing director of Henolux Group.

Lawyer Ruhul Quddus Kajol, accompanied by Md Akhtar Rasul, presented the bail plea in court, while Deputy Attorney General MA Kamrul Hasan Khan Aslam opposed the petition, reports bdnews24.com. 

Fatema will be out on bail until the charges are filed, according to Akhtar.

After the hearing, DAG Aslam said, "We argued that the victim was forced to pay millions of taka at the instigation of Fatema Amin and so she should not be granted bail.”

"However, the court took into account that she is a woman and granted her bail with that in mind. We will challenge the decision.”

The 50-year-old Anis was a former president of the Bangladesh Chhatra League’s Kushtia district unit.

In the course of his work as a contractor, he was allegedly owed Tk 12.6 million by a company, but they refused to pay the dues. After several requests went unheeded, a frustrated Anis set himself on fire outside the National Press Club in Dhaka on Jul 4 in a bid to end his own life.

Anis was rushed to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. He died the next day.

Md Ali, the man who took Anis to the hospital, said the contractor had told him on the way that Henolux owed him the money.

Later, his family filed a case against Nurul Amin, managing director of Henolux and his wife Fatema, accusing them of provoking Anis to die by suicide.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested the couple in the capital's Uttara on Jul 5.

Before his death, Anis held a news conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka and alleged that he had been 'cheated' by Henolux Group after investing in the company.

He reiterated the claim in a Facebook post two days later on May 31, while also highlighting his relationship with the group's owner Amin.

In the case filed over his death, Anis’s brother Nazrul Islam said Anis became close to Amin and his wife Fatema in 2016. They had also travelled abroad together.

In 2018, the couple had requested Anis to invest in the company, promising him a share of its profits.

According to Nazrul, Anis initially invested Tk 10 million in the company and then another Tk 2.6 million that he had borrowed from a friend.

A preliminary agreement was signed on Anis’s investment, but the couple delayed the finalisation of the deal.

Amin threatened Anis and tried to blackmail him when Anis attempted to recover the funds, Nazrul alleged.

Anis later started a case against them in Kushtia, demanding Tk 300 million, including a share of the company's profits.

Amin and Fatema called Anis and promised to repay him before finally refusing to do so, according to the case.

Nazrul said the refusal to pay and Amin and Fatema's behaviour led Anis to take his own life.