Graft Case: Wife, daughter, sister-in-law of MP Papul seek anticipatory bail

Lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam's wife, daughter and sister-in-law have sought anticipatory bail from the High Court in a corruption case involving Tk 148.41 crore.

Papul's wife Selina Islam MP, daughter Wafa Islam and sister-in-law Jesmin Prodhan filed two separate petitions with the HC on Thursday through their lawyer Mohirul Islam.

Anti-Corruption Commission's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan, who received the copies of the petitions, told The Daily Star yesterday that the HC may hold hearing in this regard today.

The petitioners have sought anticipatory bail stating that the case has been filed against them with the intention to harass them, he said.

The ACC filed the case with its integrated district office in Dhaka on November 11 against lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam, popularly known as Kazi Papul, who is now detained in Kuwait,  his wife, daughter and sister-in-law.

The ACC said in the case that Shahid deposited Tk 148.41 crore in dirty money to different bank accounts of his sister-in-law to cover his tracks.

The accused lawmaker, his wife and daughter have all transferred their ill-begotten money to Jesmin's account.

ACC Deputy Director Salahuddin also brought charges against the main accused, Jesmin, of illegally accumulating Tk 2.31 crore.

The allegations surfaced, after newspapers in Kuwait reported in February that Papul was running a human trafficking racket in the Middle Eastern country.

The reports said the Bangladeshi lawmakers and their daughters occupied sensitive positions in three major companies that brought over 20,000 Bangladeshi workers to Kuwait in exchange for an amount believed to be more than Tk 1,391.6 crore.