Dhaka-7 lawmaker Haji Mohammad Salim, who was sentenced in a corruption case, surrendered in a court this afternoon.
Haji Salim, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, went to Bangkok for treatment on May 2 and returned home on May 5. The incident sparked a huge controversy.
On February 10, the full text of the High Court’s verdict was published upholding his 10-year imprisonment.
The High Court asked him to surrender before the trial court within 30 days of receiving the verdict.
It directed the trial court to cancel the bail order of the MP and issue an arrest warrant against him if he does not surrender within the given time.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam said: “After this verdict Haji Salim has lost the eligibility to remain an MP according to Article 66 (2) of the constitution.”
On March 9 last year, the High Court bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq upheld the lower court order sentencing the MP to 10 years in jail after hearing a petition by the ACC.
At the same time, the Dhaka 7 lawmaker was acquitted of a three-year jail term in the same case filed by the ACC for concealing wealth information.
The High Court also reduced the fine imposed on Salim by half to Tk10 lakh. He would have to spend one more year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
In 2007, the ACC filed the case against Salim. On April 27, 2008, a Dhaka court jailed him for 13 years and fined him Tk20 lakh.
Salim moved the High Court against the verdict.
In 2011, the court overturned his sentence but the ACC later appealed against the lower court verdict.
Later, the Appellate Division asked the High Court to re-hear the petition.
Irregularities of Selim resurfaced after his son Irfan Selim was arrested for assaulting a navy official in 2020.
