Prof Barakat secures bail 

A Dhaka court has granted bail for economist Prof Abul Barakat in the murder case of businessman Abdul Wadud, who was killed at Dhaka’s Nilkhet during the July Uprising.

His legal counsel said there was no obstacle to his release as he was not arrested in any other case.

After a hearing on Tuesday, Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman ordered his bail on a bond of Tk 5,000.

Barakat’s lawyer Shaheen Islam argued for bail at the hearing, pleading on health grounds and seeking release on any conditions the court saw fit.

Prosecutor Muhammad Shamsudduha Suman opposed the application. The court granted bail after hearing both sides.

Another lawyer for Barakat, Babul Mia, said there was no arrest warrant against him in any other case and nothing stood in the way of his release for now.

The economist was shown arrested in the Wadud murder case on Sunday, following which his lawyer filed the bail application.

The court heard the application on Monday and initially rejected it before reversing course.

Police arrested the former Janata Bank chairman from his house on Road No 3 in Dhanmondi on the night of Jul 10 last year.

He was sent to jail the following day in a case filed over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 2.97 billion from Janata Bank in the name of AnonTex Group through fraudulent means.

On Jun 7, the Appellate Division granted him bail in that Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case on condition that he surrender his passport to the court.

Despite getting bail, the former Dhaka University professor was not released from jail, as Detective Branch (DB) police applied the same day to show him arrested in the Wadud murder case.

According to case details, businessman Wadud was shot dead in Nilkhet on the afternoon of Jul 19, 2024.

The case was filed by his brother-in-law, Abdur Rab, at New Market Police Station, naming ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina among 130 accused.�"bdnews24