Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court on Monday again granted bail to expelled Jubo League leader and casino kingpin Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a graft case in presence of the accused.
Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka passed the bail order after hearing the submission of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the defense.
Monday was earlier fixed for charge hearing against Samrat and his bail petition hearing in his presence.Jail authorities produced sick Samrat before the court at about 10 am on Monday.
Lawyer Ehsanul Haque Samaji conducted hearing on behalf of the accused Samrat at noon while ACC Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain opposed the bail plea. After the hearing the court decided to pronounce his order later in the day.
Later in the afternoon, the court granted bail to Samrat up to the next scheduled date.
On the same day the defense lawyer sought for charge hearing and the court fixed September 19 for charge hearing.
Earlier on May 11, Samrat was released on bail after over two and a half years in the jail in four cases after Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of Special Judge Court-6 granted him bail in the graft case filed by the ACC. The High Court on May 18 canceled the bail and ordered him to surrender in the lower court concerned within seven days in the case.
Accordingly on May 24, Samrat surrendered to the trial court while the court sent him to the jail.
ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam, and also the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, filed the graft case on the allegation of acquiring illegal wealth worth Tk 2,94,80,087 on November 12, 2019.
After investigation of the case, the ACC Deputy Director submitted the charge sheet of the case to the court against Samrat on November 26, 2020.
