Majid Ul Haque gets bail in graft case

A Dhaka court yesterday granted bail to former water resources minister Major General (Retd) M Majid Ul Haque in a corruption case filed against him in October, 1996.
Majid Ul Haque, also a former BNP leader, was produced before the court on a stretcher.
Judge Mohammad Abdul Majid of the Special Court for Dhaka Division granted him bail, even though he had earlier misused the privilege of bail obtained from the High Court (HC).
The judge in his order said he did not grant bail to any person who misused the privilege of bail. But considering his (Majid) health condition, he is granting bail to the accused upon a bond of Tk 20,000 with two guarantors, the judge said.
Moving the bail petition, Advocate Sanaullah Miah told the court that their client was earlier granted bail from the HC. Later his bail was cancelled, as he was absent from the trial court on several consecutive dates without taking any steps. The court also issued an arrest warrant on August 24, 2005 and on August 3 this year.
Their client could not appear before it due to his illness. Moreover, the previous lawyer did not take any step on behalf of the accused, the lawyer said.