HC upholds freezing of Omar Faruq's bank accounts

The High Court yesterday upheld the order that froze bank accounts of Omar Faruq Talukder, the sacked assistant personal secretary of former railways minister Suranjit Sengupta, where Omar deposited over Tk 70 lakh.
The HC came up with the verdict after hearing a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on May 9 that challenged a lower court order which allowed release of balances in the frozen bank accounts of Omar Faruq.
The grounds, on which the verdict was announced, could not be known, as its full text was not released yesterday.
ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Omar Faruq cannot withdraw money from the bank accounts following the HC verdict.
On April 9 last year, members of Border Guard Bangladesh detained Omar Faruq Talukder, the then railway general manager Yusuf Ali Mridha and divisional commandant Enamul Huq after a car carrying them entered the BGB Headquarters at about 11:30pm.
Later on August 14, the ACC filed a case against Faruq, a key figure in the railwaygate scandal, on charge of amassing wealth of Tk 1.47 crore through illegal means.
On October 25 last year, Bangladesh Bank directed the banks concerned to freeze his bank accounts.
A Dhaka court on May 9 this year allowed release of balances in the frozen bank accounts.