Court upheld the bail to Erfan Selim

The Supreme Court has upheld the bail granted to Erfan Selim, the son of MP Haji Selim, in a case over ‘assaulting’ a navy officer in Dhanmondi.The state’s petition to appeal the bail set by the High Court was scrapped by a six-member virtual appellate bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Sunday.

Additional Attorney General Sheikh Md Morshed and Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Debnath represented the state at the hearing, while lawyers Baset Mazumder and Sayeed Ahmed Raza represented Erfan.

“There is nothing to bar him from being released from jail as the Supreme Court has rejected the state’s appeal,” Raza said after the hearing. In October 2020, Lt Md Wasif Ahmed Khan, a naval officer, filed a case with the Dhanmondi police, accusing Erfan and his associates of assaulting him.

The case named Haji Selim’s protocol officer AB Siddique Dipu, Mohammad Zahid and Mizanur Rahman, who Wasif said beat him up after a collision between their car and his motorcycle.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested Erfan after the incident. A mobile court sentenced him and Zahid to one year in jail for possession of illegal liquor and walkie-talkies.

The government also suspended Erfan as a councillor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

RAB initiated two cases against Erfan on drugs and illegal arms charges, but police in the investigation sought to drop the charges against him, saying they did not find evidence of his involvement with drugs and firearms.

On Mar 18, a High Court bench granted Erfan bail. The state sought to appeal the decision and the chamber judge suspended the bail for four weeks until the case could be heard by the appellate court.