Graft case: Prof Yunus, six others seek bail

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and six others today sought bail in a case filed over misappropriation of about Tk 25.22 crore of Grameen Telecom Workers' Profit Participation Fund.

The six others are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Md Nazmul Islam, Directors Md Ashraful Hassan, Nazneen Sultana, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee.

Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court will hear the bail petition in their absence at 2:00pm, said Dhaka Metropolitan Additional Public Prosecutor Tapash Kumar Pal.

Gulshan Anwar Prodhan, a deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Investigation Officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet before the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka on February 1.

The other accused of the case are Grameen Telecom Director Parvin Mahmud, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan and representative Mainul Islam, Jatiya Workers Federation Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan, and lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali.

Prof Yunus, Nazmul, Ashraful, Naznin, Shahjahan, Nurjahan, Huzzatul, Kamruzzaman, Firoz, Mainul, Kamrul, Sharif and Yusuf have been shown as fugitives in the charge sheet.

Kamrul was not named in the first information report of the case; but his name was included in the charge sheet later.

Parvin was earlier granted bail from the High Court in the case.

The investigator also appealed to the court to issue arrest warrants against the fugitives.

On May 30 last year, Gulshan Anwar filed the case against Prof Yunus and 12 others with the ACC's integrated district office in Dhaka.