Trial against SK Sinha, 10 others begins

A Dhaka court framed charges against 11 people including former chief justice Surendra Kumar (SK) Sinha in a case filed for embezzling and laundering about Tk 4 crore from Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank).

Through the charge framing, trial has formally begun against SK Sinha and 10 others in the case.

The court also fixed August 18 to take testimony in the case.

Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of the Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka passed the order on Thursday (August 13).

Other accused of the case are former managing director AKM Shamim, senior executive vice-president and head of Credit Division Gazi Salahuddin, first vice-president of Credit Division Swapan Kumar Roy, first vice-president Shafiuddin Askary, former chairman of the bank's audit committee Mahbubul Haque Chisty and vice-president Lutful Haque.

Besides, three others -- Shahjahan, a resident of Tangail's Sreehoripur village, Ranjit Chandra Saha of the district's Jodunathpur village and his wife Santri Roy and nephew Niranjan Chandra Saha -- have also been indicted.

On January 5, another Dhaka court accepted the charges against the accused in the case and issued arrest warrants for them, as they were shown as fugitives in the charge sheet.

On December 10 last year, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted the charge sheet in the case against 11 people, including the former chief justice.

Earlier on July 10, the ACC filed the case against SK Sinha and 10 others with the anti-graft watchdog’s Dhaka integrated district office-1 at Segunbagicha, for allegedly misappropriating Tk4 crore from Farmers Bank with fake loan documents in the names of two persons.

The money was later transferred to the account of SK Sinha and siphoned off, said the case statement.

SK Sinha resigned as chief justice on November 11, 2017, from abroad. He is now in the US.