Bidisha Ershad Appears in Dhaka Court After Fraud Conviction

Bidisha Ershad, the former wife of the late Jatiya Party chairman and former president Hussain Muhammad Ershad, appeared before a Dhaka court today. Her appearance comes after she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in absentia on May 20 for a fraud case.

She is currently being held in the lockup of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka. Her defense team has filed a bail petition, which is scheduled to be heard this afternoon by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid.

Bidisha Ershad was arrested yesterday at Arabika Coffee in Dhaka's Gulshan area based on a conviction warrant. The verdict was delivered in her absence by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam. In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of Tk 10,000, with an additional one-month simple imprisonment ordered in default of payment.

The case stems from a complaint filed by businessman AKM Mosharrof Hossain Sikdar on February 2, 2008. The complaint alleges that Mosharrof paid Bidisha Ershad Tk 75 lakh in July 2001 for a flat in Baridhara, which was supposed to be handed over by July 2002. The flat was never delivered, and a Tk 75 lakh check issued by Bidisha Ershad later bounced in May 2005 due to insufficient funds.