The High Court today granted bail to suspended Sylhet City Corporation mayor and BNP leader Ariful Haque Chowdhury in former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case.

The HC bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah granted the bail after hearing a petition filed by Ariful seeking bail in the case.

The court granted bail to Ariful on the grounds that he has been kept behind the bar for around two years although the trial proceedings have not finished yet, his lawyer Nizam Uddin told The Daily Star.

Ariful could not get released from jail following the HC order as he was arrested in other cases, the lawyer said.

The then opposition lawmaker and Awami League (AL) leader Kibria and four others including his nephew Shah Manzur Huda were killed in a grenade attack on a rally in Habiganj on January 27, 2005.

The case was probed thrice and the investigators also pressed charges thrice against 32 people, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar. The charge framing was deferred for nine times.