Professor Abul Barkat shown arrested in another case

The court has ordered economist Professor Abul Barkat to be shown arrested in the murder case of businessman Abdul Wadud in the capital's Nilkhet area during the July movement.

As a result, he is not being released from prison for the time being, even though he was granted bail by the High Court in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case.

On Sunday, the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Monirul Islam ordered him to be shown arrested in the murder case, following a police application. After the hearing, the court ordered him to be sent to prison.

When he was presented in court, Abul Barkat's lawyer applied for bail. The court has set a hearing date for the application next Monday.

Omar Faruk Farooqui, Public Prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, said that although he was granted bail in several cases before, his release has been suspended as he was shown arrested in this new case.

Abul Barkat was arrested from his home in the capital's Dhanmondi area on July 10 last year. Later, he was sent to jail in an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case filed by Janata Bank on charges of loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk 297 crore in the name of Anontex Group. He was the chairman of Janata Bank during the Awami League government.

After receiving bail from the Appellate Division in that case on June 7, the Ramna Division of the Detective Branch requested that he be arrested in the Abdul Wadud murder case.

The police application claimed that information about Abul Barkat's involvement in providing financial support and instructions to leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates in the Dhaka University area during the July 2024 movement was found during the investigation.

According to the case documents, businessman Abdul Wadud was shot dead in the Nilkhet area of ​​the capital on July 19, 2024. His brother-in-law Abdur Rob filed a murder case with New Market Police Station in this incident. A total of 130 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader, have been named as accused in the case.