2 journalists secure bail in case filed for probing RHD corruption

Two journalists, including bdnews24.com's Patuakhali Correspondent, have been granted bail in an extortion case filed by a Roads and Highway Department (RHD) official for investigating charges of corruption.

They are bdnews24.com's Sanjay Kumar Das and Maasranga Television's Patuakhali Correspondent Md Jalil.

Judge of the Patuakhali District and Sessions Judge Court Bimal Krishna Sikder on Tuesday granted them bail after a hearing.

The court of Patuakhali's Judicial Magistrate Tapan Kumar Dey had, on Aug 19, rejected their anticipatory bail pleas and sent them to jail in the case.

Their lawyer Harunur Rashid told bdnews24.com a day after they landed in jail that another bail plea had been filed at a District Judge Court. The court had set Aug 26 for hearing.

Sanjay Kumar Das was investigating the auction of obsolete equipment and materials, including those of a Bailey bridge, by the RHD in the district.

The bdnews24.com investigation did not find the addresses of the three firms - Nazma Enterprise, Gazi Trading Corporation and Karnaphuli Engineering - that had won the auction.

Patuakhali RHD Sub-Assistant Engineer Md Hasan Al-Mamun filed the case with Patuakhali Sadar Police Station on April 25 against Das, Jalil and five other unidentified people.

Al-Mamun is one of the members of a five-member committee formed to take care of the auction deals.

bdnews24.com ran a report on May 8 on the Patuakhali RHD’s alleged embezzlement of money through auction irregularities.

Later, the High Court had ordered an investigation into the suspected corruption in the basis of a petition.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain had also issued a rule asking why the auction process should not be declared illegal.