Ex- BNP MP Anne sent to jail

A Dhaka court sent former BNP lawmaker Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anne to jail yesterday after he surrendered before it and sought bail in a case filed against him for extorting Tk 25 lakh from a construction firm.
Anne along with his lawyers appeared before the court as per a High Court (HC) directive and sought bail, but the court rejected his bail petition and sent him to Dhaka Central Jail.
The court asked the jail authorities to provide Anne first class division and to take necessary steps for his treatment in jail custody.
Moving the bail petition, defence lawyers told the court that their client had surrendered before the HC seeking anticipatory bail on August 14. The HC did not grant him bail but asked him to surrender before the Sessions Judge's Court within two weeks.
The HC also asked the law enforcing agencies not to arrest or harass the petitioner within this period as the Sessions Court might consider the bail petition.
Opposing the bail petition, Additional Public Prosecutor Kabir Hussain told the court that the case was earlier brought under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR) and the trial court had no jurisdiction to entertain a petition for bail.
Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court rejected the bail petition saying that he had no jurisdiction to entertain the bail petition.
Shamsul Haque, senior manager of M/S Abdul Monem Ltd, filed the case against the former BNP lawmaker with Shahbagh Police Station on September 10 last year accusing him of extorting Tk 25 lakh from the company on May 7, 2005.
In the case statement, the complainant said the accused extorted the money from the company upon securing a work order for dredging for the company. Anne initially asked the company for Tk 50 lakh but later accepted Tk 25 lakh from the complainant on May 7, 2005.
The investigation officer pressed charges against the accused on February 29 and the court framed charges against Anne on August 4.