HC imposes ban on broadcasting PK Halder's speech
The court said that although Article-39 of the Constitution speaks of freedom of speech, but it is not applicable for the fugitives
The High Court (HC) on Wednesday asked media outlets to stop broadcasting interviews and speeches of fugitives including Prashanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder, the alleged mastermind behind one of the biggest financial scams in the nation's history.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the order after hearing of an appeal filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seeking directives for taking appropriate action.
The court said that although Article-39 of the Constitution speaks of freedom of speech, but it is not applicable for the fugitives.
The ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan filed the petition.
The ACC also made a request to the Ministry of Information and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) for such instructions.
At the same time, an appeal was also filed to summon interview and a talk show video clip of PK Halder, which was broadcast by a private TV channel on Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ACC lawyer brought the matter to the notice of the court.
The court asked him to file a written application in this regard.
PK Halder went into hiding after allegedly embezzling a huge amount of money from various financial institutions.
Even though he wanted to return to the country once on the condition of returning the money, he did not return saying he is ill after the High Court ordered for his arrest.
Sources say he is living a lavish life in Begum Para, Canada.
According to an ongoing ACC investigation, he has embezzled at least Tk11,000 crore from different organisations and financial institutions. According to ACC sources, the amount of embezzled money may increase as the investigation progresses.
Among the institutions, he and his accomplices misappropriated around Tk3,500 crore from ILFSL, Tk2,200 crore from FAS Finance, Tk2,500 crore from Reliance Finance, and around Tk3,000 crore from People's Leasing.
PK Halder has also siphoned off Tk1,000 crore to Canada, Singapore and India, the ACC investigation revealed.
An arrest warrant has already been sent to Interpol through the home ministry to apprehend PK Halder.