Court Correspondent :
The Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka yesterday fixed October 5 to pronounce the verdict in a case against former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others for allegedly embezzling Taka forty million from the then Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank) and laundering the money abroad.
Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam fixed the date as both prosecution and defence concluded their arguments in the case on Tuesday.
Earlier on September 6, four accused, former Chairman of the then Farmers Bank’s Audit Committee Md Mahbubul Haque Chisty alias Babul Chisty, Vice-
President M Lutful Haque, Managing Director AKM Shameem and Senior Executive Vice-President Gazi Salauddin submitted written statements in their defence in the court.
Seven accused out of the total 11 in their statements in self-defence on August 29, had pleaded not guilty and demanded justice from the court. These seven accused are Babul Chisty, AKM Shameem, M Lutful Haque, Gazi Salauddin, first Vice-President of the then Farmer’s Bank Swapan Kumar Roy, and bank clients Md Shahjahan and Niranjon Chandra Saha. The Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka on August 13, last year, framed charges in the case. ACC Director Benjir Ahmed had submitted the chargesheet of the case in the
court of Dhaka’s Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Qayes on December 10,
2019. The court, however, on February 20, last year, transferred the case to the Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka for other proceedings.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on July 10, 2019, for
embezzling Taka forty million from the then Farmer’s Bank and laundering the
money abroad.
The other accused are AKM Shameem, Swapan Kumar Roy, Shafiuddin
Askaree, Gazi Salauddin, M Lutful Haque, Md Mahbubul Haque Chisty alias Babul Chisty, Md Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, his uncle Ranajit Chandra Saha and Ranajit’s wife Santi Roy.
According to the allegation, Md Shahjahan and Niranjan took the money on loan from the then Farmer’s Bank, which was later transferred to Justice Sinha’s Sonali Bank account, showing it was earned from selling his (Sinha’s) house.
