A Dhaka court has denied bail to Bidisha Siddique, former wife of the late former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad, in a case involving allegations of fraud and embezzlement over the sale of a flat in the capital’s Baridhara area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid rejected her bail petition after a hearing on Wednesday and ordered that she be sent to jail.
On May 20, the court sentenced Bidisha, in absentia, to two years in prison for fraud. She was also fined Tk 10,000, with an additional one month of non-rigorous imprisonment if she failed to pay the fine. As she was absent when the verdict was delivered, the court issued both a conviction warrant and an arrest warrant against her.
Police from Gulshan Police Station arrested Bidisha from a restaurant in Gulshan on Tuesday night based on the warrant.
At around 11am on Wednesday, police produced her before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka and sought an order to keep her in custody. Bidisha was kept in the court lock-up during the hearing rather than being brought before the judge.
Her lawyer, Atikur Rahman, sought bail on special consideration, saying Bidisha intended to appeal to the High Court. He told the court that the case had previously been stayed by the High Court, although the stay was later withdrawn. He also argued that the trial had been completed and the verdict delivered in her absence.
Lawyers for the plaintiff, Hedayet Uddin Khan, and the state, Assistant Public Prosecutor Syed Golam Mortuza Ibne Islam, strongly opposed the bail petition.
The plaintiff’s lawyer told the court that Bidisha had shown “extreme disrespect” toward the court in the nearly 25-year-old case. Despite being aware of the summons and the proceedings, he said, she had remained absent from court for an extended period.
After hearing both sides, the judge rejected Bidisha’s bail petition and ordered that she be sent to jail.
According to the case documents, businessman Mosharraf Hossain Sikder filed the case with Gulshan Police Station in 2008, accusing Bidisha of fraud in connection with the sale of a flat at President Park in Baridhara.
The case statement says Mosharraf became acquainted with Bidisha while pursuing the purchase of a flat. On July 1, 2001, she allegedly showed him a flat at President Park and offered to sell it for Tk 80 lakh.
Ten days later, on July 10, Bidisha allegedly summoned Mosharraf to her office in Banani and accepted a Tk 75 lakh pay order made out to her nominated representative and friend, Abdul Razzak.
After the payment was made through Standard Chartered Bank, the two parties signed an agreement for the purchase of the flat. Under the agreement, the remaining amount was to be paid after approval from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), and the flat was to be handed over by July 10, 2002.
However, the complaint alleges that Bidisha failed to hand over the flat within the stipulated period and continued to delay the matter.
When Mosharraf later sought a refund, Bidisha allegedly gave him a Tk 72 lakh cheque on February 9, 2005. The cheque was subsequently dishonoured due to insufficient funds in her bank account.
According to the case, Bidisha then neither returned the flat nor refunded the money. She was also accused of threatening Mosharraf with death through members of a criminal gang.
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