A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced Bidisha Siddique, former wife of the late president Hussain Muhammad Ershad, to two years of imprisonment in a fraud case filed with Gulshan Police Station.
Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam delivered the verdict on Wednesday afternoon.
The court imposed a fine of Tk10,000, in default, she will have to serve one more month in jail.
Hemayet Uddin Khan, the legal counsel representing the plaintiff, confirmed the details of the sentencing.
According to the case documents, the plaintiff Mosharraf Hossain, businessman and importer of sanitary products based in Mirpur-10, contacted Bidisha in 2001 with the intention of purchasing a flat in Baridhara.
A contract was subsequently signed for the sale of a flat in ‘President Park’, Baridhara, amounting to Tk 80 lakh.
On 10 July 2001, Bidisha reportedly asked the plaintiff to visit her ‘Rajnigandha’ office in Banani and directed him to issue a pay order of Tk 75 lakh in favor of her nominee and friend, Abdul Razzaq.”
The plaintiff processed the payment through the Karwan Bazar branch of Standard Chartered Bank, after which an agreement was signed between the parties.
Under the terms of the agreement, the flat was to be registered following approval from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and the payment of the remaining balance.
The handover of the property was scheduled to take place by 10 July 2002.
The prosecution stated that despite the passage of a significant amount of time, the flat was never handed over.
When pressured to deliver the property, Bidisha assured the plaintiff that the money would be refunded.
On 9 February 2005, she issued a cheque for Tk72 lakh to the plaintiff; however, the cheque was dishonoured by the bank due to insufficient funds.
Consequently, the victim filed a case with Gulshan Police Station in 2008, alleging fraud related to the sale of the Baridhara flat.
“Bidisha Siddique harassed the victim for a long time through this real estate fraud,” said lawyer Hemayet Uddin Khan.
“After a prolonged legal battle, the court has finally delivered its verdict today. The accused is currently absconding, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.”
