Court extends ex-Jubo League leader Samrat's bail in illegal wealth case

Samrat, who was expelled from the ruling party's youth affiliate for his alleged ties to a gambling racket, will be out on bail until Oct 20

A court has extended expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat's bail to Oct 20 in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission over illegal wealth accumulation.

Dhaka Special Judge's Court-6 passed the order on Monday.

Samrat was in court when his lawyer petitioned for permanent bail on his behalf, with the ACC's counsel Mahmud Hossain Jahangir opposing the plea.

Earlier, the court rescheduled the indictment hearing in the case to Oct 20 after defence counsel Ehsanul Haque Shomaji requested a deferral as he was travelling abroad.

The hearing was originally slated for Aug 22. Samrat was brought to the court from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University, where he had been receiving treatment under police supervision.

Samrat's lawyer Shomaji had appealed for a postponement of the indictment hearing at the time. The court granted his request and deferred the hearing to Sept 19.

Samrat is implicated in four cases relating to the possession of firearms, narcotics, money laundering and illegal wealth acquisition. He had received bail in three of them before he was granted bail in the ACC case over illegal wealth on Aug 10, clearing the path for his release from prison.

Samrat, the former president of Jubo League’s Dhaka South unit, came under scrutiny over his alleged ties to the illegal gambling business after the Rapid Action Battalion busted casino operations in numerous clubs in the capital in September 2020.

He subsequently went into hiding before being arrested in Cumilla on Oct 6 that year.