The High Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail granted to expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a case filed for amassing illegal wealth of Tk 29.4 million.
The court also directed Samrat to surrender before the lower court concerned in seven days in connection with the case.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Samrat.
The High Court has also warned the judge of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka, Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman, for not considering the gravity of the case and granting bail to Samrat considering only his sickness without seeing any medical report.
The High Court has directed the lower court concerned to follow the law and Appellate Division directions during granting bail to anyone in future.
Earlier on May 11 this year Judge of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka, Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman, granted bail to Samrat in the case after hearing a bail petition.
Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat was released from jail on that day after securing bail in all the four cases filed against him. Earlier on April 10 and 11 he got bail in three other cases filed against him. And he got bail in the final case on May 11.
Later the Anti-Corruption Commission on May 16 filed an appeal petition with the High Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to Samrat in the case filed for amassing illegal wealth of Tk 29.4 million.
Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appeared in the hearing on behalf of the ACC, while lawyer Mansurul Haque Chowdhury appeared for Samrat.
On November 12 of 2019, the ACC filed the case against Samrat with its Integrated District office-1 of Dhaka for amassing illegal wealth of Tk 29.4 million.
On December 7 of 2020, ACC Deputy Director Jahangir Alam, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet against Samrat, a "kingpin" of illegal casino businesses in the capital, to the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka.
The case was then sent to the Special Judge’s Court-6 of Dhaka for charge framing hearing on March 22 in 2021.
Samrat, the former president of Jubo League’s Dhaka City South unit, came under scrutiny over his alleged ties to the illegal gambling business after the Rapid Action Battalion busted casino operations in numerous clubs in the capital in September 2020.
He subsequently went into hiding before being arrested along with Arman in Cumilla on Oct 6 that year. The RAB later conducted a raid on Samrat’s office in Kakrail’s Bhuiyan Trade Centre with him in tow.
They subsequently recovered a foreign pistol, 1,160 yaba tablets, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two kangaroo hides and 'electrical torture equipment’.
A mobile court handed Samrat a six-month prison sentence for possession of the kangaroo skins under the Wild Animal Protection Act and he was later sent to the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.
Two cases were also filed against him under the Narcotics Control Act and Arms Act with the Ramna Police Station.
