Bangladesh
SK Sinha Jail Former Chief Justice SK Sinha sentenced to 11 years in prison
Dhaka, November 9: Former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar (SK) Sinha has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for embezzlement. Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-4 pronounced the verdict on Tuesday (November 9).
The case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on July 10, 2019. The case was filed against 11 people, including SK Sinha, for embezzling Tk 4 crore from Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank). Syed Iqbal Hossain, director of the agency, filed the case at the ACC's integrated district office, Dhaka-1.
The seven accused then pleaded not guilty on August 29 this year and sought justice from the court.
They are: Md. Mahbubul Haque Chishti (Babul Chishti), former chairman of audit committee of Farmers Bank Limited; AKM Shamim, former MD of Farmers Bank; First Vice President Swapan Kumar Roy; Vice President Md. Lutful Haque; Former SEVP Gazi Salahuddin; Md. Shahjahan of Tangail; and Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife from the same area.
Among the accused Mahbubul Haque Chishti is in jail. The other six are on bail. On the other hand, Surendra Kumar Sinha, Safiuddin Askari Ahmed, First Vice President of Farmers Bank, Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife Santri Roy are absconding. They could not defend themselves as they were fugitives. Twenty-one people have testified in this case.
According to ACC sources, the accused Md. Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha opened two current accounts at the Gulshan branch of Farmers Bank on November 6, 2016.
On November 7, they applied for a loan of Tk 2 crore each. Both of them mentioned the address of house number 51, road number 12, sector 10, Uttara residential area in the bank account opening and loan application form. The house is the private property of former Chief Justice SK Sinha.
In the loan application, 32 per cent land in Savar belonging to Santri Roy Simi, wife of Ranjit Chandra Saha was shown as security. Both are former acquaintances of SK Sinha. The two loan applications have not been verified. Record analysis and bank regulations were also not followed.
