Laxmipur-2 lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam. File photo

The High Court yesterday rejected the bail petition of lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam's wife Selina Islam MP and their daughter Wafa Islam in a corruption case involving Tk 148.41 crore.

The court also ordered Selina, a lawmaker from reserved seats, and Wafa to surrender before the trial court concerned within 10 days in connection with the case.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Ahmed Sohel came up with the order after virtually hearing their petition.

Lawyers Abdul Baset Majumdar and Sayeed Ahmed Raza appeared for the accused petitioners, while lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan argued for the Anti- Corruption Commission and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state during the hearing.

Khurshid told The Daily Star that the HC denied bail to Selina and her daughter Wafa as there were specific corruption allegations against them.

The ACC filed the case with its integrated district office in Dhaka on November 11 against Shahid Islam, popularly known as Kazi Papul, who is now detained in Kuwait, his sister-in-law Jesmin Prodhan, wife Selina and daughter Wafa of laundering Tk 148.41 crore.

In the case statement, the anti-graft body said Shahid deposited Tk 148.41 crore to different bank accounts of his sister-in-law Jesmin Prodhan to cover his tracks.

Papul, Selina, and Wafa have all transferred their ill-begotten money to Jesmin's accounts, it said.

The ACC lodged the case against all four of them over the matter.

ACC Deputy Director Salahuddin also brought charges against the main accused, Jesmin, of illegally accumulating Tk 2.31 crore.

The allegations surfaced after newspapers in Kuwait reported in February that Papul was running a human trafficking racket in the Middle Eastern country.

The reports said the Bangladeshi lawmakers and their daughter occupied sensitive positions in three major companies that shipped over 20,000 Bangladeshi workers to Kuwait in exchange for an amount believed to be more than Tk 1,391.6 crore.

On November 26, Selina, Wafa and Jesmin filed two separate petitions with the HC seeking anticipatory bail in the case.

In the petitions, they said the case was filed against them with malafide intention to harass them.