Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday refused to grant bail to a Sonali Bank General Manager, Nepal Chandra Saha, in a case filed for misappropriation of Tk 127 crore of the bank.
The High Court Bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order after rejecting a rule issued in this regard.
Earlier on November 26, 2019, this High Court Bench issued a rule upon the government to explain in two weeks as to why Sonali Bank General Manager and former DGM of Khulna Corporate Branch, Nepal Chandra Saha, should not be granted bail in the case.
Advocate Munshi Moniruzzaman appeared in the court on behalf of Nepal Chandra, Deputy Attorney General AKM Aminuddin Manik stood for the State and Advocate Fouzia Akhter Popi for the Anit-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Khan, Deputy Assistant Director of ACC in Khulna district office, filed the case, against five persons including Nepal Chandra Saha, with the Khanjahan Ali Police Station on February 22, 2017, on charge of misappropriation of Tk 127 crore of Khulna Corporate Branch of Sonali Bank.
The case documents said, “Sonali Jute Mills’ Chairman SM Emdadul Hossain received a loan of Tk 85 crore 80 lakh 69 thousand and 174 from Sonali Bank. But he didn’t spend the money for his mills purpose rather embezzled the amount in association with the bank officials. It caused a loss of Tk 126 crore 82 lakh 93 thousand and 282 to the bank.”
“Sonali Jute Mills’ Chairman SM Emdadul Hossain in 2009 applied for a loan to the Sonali Bank’ Managing Director when he was a loan defaulter of Uttara Bank’s Khulna branch. Responding his application, a team of the Sonali Bank visited the concerned mills. The team approved a loan of Tk 20 crore in favour of the institution. But the then DGM of Sonali Bank’s Khulna Corporate Branch Nepal Chandra Saha granted loan of Tk 85 crore 80 lakh 69 thousand and 174 from the bank violating the rules and regulations,” also read the case documents.
The case is under trial in the court of senior special judge of Khulna. Nepal Chandra Saha has been detained in jail since September 26, 2019.
