Former Barishal city mayor granted bail

The High Court yesterday granted ad-interim bail to former Barishal City Corporation mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in a corruption case, clearing the way for him to walk out of jail.

The HC bench of Justice Md Salim granted bail to Ahsan Habib Kamal for six months following an appeal filed by him, challenging the trial court verdict that sentenced him to seven years in prison.

In the appeal, Ahsan Habib also sought bail from the HC.

Habib's filing lawyer Shanjid Siddique told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar stopping his client's release from jail following the HC order.

The HC granted bail to Habib as he is sick, and he will not misuse his bail, the lawyer said.

Lawyers Muhammad Yusuf Hossain Humayun and Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal also appeared for Habib while lawyer AKM Farhan argued for Anti-Corruption Commission.

The court of Barishal Divisional Special Judge Mohsinul Haque on November 9 last year sentenced Habib and four others to seven years in prison in a corruption case filed over embezzlement of Tk 45 lakh.

The court also fined Kamal, former fisheries affairs secretary of BNP central committee, and one Zakir Hossain, a contractor, Tk 1 crore each.

The  three other convicts are Md Ishahak, former executive engineer of  Barishal municipality; Khan Nurul Islam, former assistant engineer of  the municipality and current supervising engineer of the city  corporation; and Abdus Sattar, former deputy assistant engineer of the  municipality.

ACC filed  the case on October 11,  2000. Kamal and others embezzled the  money in name of repairing roads and recruiting fake contractors for  the work, according to the case statement.

Ishahak, Nurul and Sattar are now on bail, lawyer Shanjid added.