SC scraps bail for ex-DC, ADC

The Supreme Court yesterday scrapped the High Court orders that granted bail to a former deputy commissioner and a former additional deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar in a Tk 20 crore corruption case.

Ruhul Amin, former DC of Cox's Bazar, and its former ADC Zafar Alam now have to surrender immediately to the trial court, said Khurshid Alam Khan who argued in court on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

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A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the orders upon hearing two leave-to-appeal petitions filed by the ACC challenging the HC bail orders.

On November 19, 2014, AKM Kaisarul Islam Chowdhury, a resident of Matarbari, filed the case with the Cox's Bazar Senior Special Judge's Court, accusing  the then DC Ruhul Amin, ADC Zafar Alam and 26 others of embezzling Tk 20 crore from the Matarbari coal-fired power plant project.

Ruhul Amin was named as the prime accused. The other accused include Cox's Bazar's land acquisition official Arefin Akhter Noor, Maheshkhali fishery department official Moshiur Rahman and project director Mohammad Illias.

The accused had forged documents to misappropriate the money, according to the first information report.

Judge Md Sadiqul Islam took the case into cognisance on the same day and transferred it to the ACC for probe.

On May 10 this year, the ACC arrested Zafar Alam near the Supreme Court premises in the case. Later, a Dhaka court sent him to jail. At the time, he was attached with the public administration ministry as OSD (officer on special duty). 

On May 22, a Cox's Bazar court sent Ruhul Amin to jail as he surrendered before the court, seeking bail. At the time, he was posted to the Economic Relations Division as deputy secretary.

The HC granted bail to the duo as they filed bail petitions.