HC cancels “casino kingpin” Samrat’s bail

Wed May 18, 2022 12:06 PM Last update on: Wed May 18, 2022 01:54 PM
High Court cancels casino kingpin Samrat’s bail
Star file photo

The High Court today cancelled the bail granted to expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat in a corruption case.

The HC also ordered Samrat to surrender before the lower court concerned in seven days in connection with the case.

The 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) on Monday (May 16), seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Samrat.

In the petition, the commission challenged the lower court order that granted bail to Samrat, one of the “casino kingpins” in Dhaka.

Citing the petition, ACC’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the lower court concerned has granted bail to Samrat on medical grounds though he has been receiving treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

Samrat cannot be granted bail because of the gravity of his offence, he said.

Samrat was released on bail on May 11 spending over two and a half years in jail in four cases after Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 granted him bail to Samrat in the corruption case.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik opposed the bail of Samrat while senior lawyer Md Munsurul Hoque Chowdhury argued for Samrat before the HC today.