Court orders arrest of Haridas Chandra in fresh fraud case following money laundering charges
Photo Collected
Haridas Chandra, who gained public attention for his initiative to construct an 81-foot-tall statue of Lord Rama in Gaibandha’s Palashbari, has been formally arrested in connection with a fraud case filed at the Uttara West Police Station in the capital. The order was issued on Tuesday by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain following a formal request from the investigating officer.
Chandra has been in custody since July 16, following his initial arrest by the Detective Branch of police from a temple premises in Palashbari. His initial incarceration stemmed from a separate money laundering case filed on July 12 by the Criminal Investigation Department’s Financial Crime Unit, which alleged he was involved in laundering 93.5 million taka.
The fraud case in which he was shown arrested today was filed on August 24 by Mahbubur Rahman, an official at a private firm. The complaint names Chandra and one Obaidul Islam as suspects. Following the court order, Chandra’s legal counsel, Basudev Guha, filed a bail petition with the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam. However, the court rejected the plea and ordered that he remain in custody.
According to the case files, the complainant alleged that the suspects misappropriated 7.58 million taka under the pretext of providing him with a residential apartment. Rahman and Islam were reportedly college friends. Islam allegedly claimed to be the owner of a development company and promised to provide Rahman with a flat in the Khilkhet Nikunja area, accepting a significant sum of money as payment.
The charges further state that when the apartment was not delivered, Islam identified Chandra as his business partner. Trusting his assurances, Rahman reportedly transferred additional large sums of money to Chandra in several installments. Neither the flat nor the funds have been returned to the complainant.
Defense lawyer Basudev Guha maintained that his client is innocent and asserted that the case was fabricated to frame him.
0%
0%
0%
0%
