A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday sentenced in absentia former top judge Surendra Kumar Sinha, the country's first chief justice from the minority Hindu community, to 11 years in jail on two counts of graft in a case over money laundering and breach of trust.
Dhaka Special Judge 4 Shaikh Nazmul Alam sentenced the former chief justice, who currently lives in the United States, to seven years in prison for money laundering and another four years for criminal breach of trust. The prison terms will run concurrently.
Sinha, 70, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a case involving the laundering of Tk 4 crore (USD 4,70,000) taken in credit from the Farmers Bank, now known as the Padma Bank. The judgment came four years after Sinha resigned while on a visit abroad as the government alleged he was involved in corrupt practices.
Sinha served as the 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh from January 2015 to November 2017. Sinha, Bangladesh's first chief justice from the minority Hindu community, has alleged that he was forced to resign because he opposed Bangladesh's incumbent "undemocratic" and "authoritarian" regime.
Among the 10 others tried in the case, Tangail residents, Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha were acquitted as the charges against them were not proven.