Jaha Alam, who finally got released from jail after languishing behind bars for around three years in spite of being innocent, wants compensation for his sufferings.
“I have suffered a lot, I want compensation. I want a job. I want Prime Minister to do the justice. I want to thank court for arranging my release. I never thought that I would become free again,” he said, BSS reported.
Alam was released from jail at 12.50 am today, as the jail authorities received the order of the High Court, which directed it to release him within the day.
Alam’s elder brother Shahnur received him at the gate of Kashimpur Central Jail and burst into tears. After talking to newsmen waiting at the jail gate, the brothers went to their home in village Dhuburia under Nagarpur upazilla in Tangail.
“Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) kept me behind bars in a fake case for three years. I want strict punishment of ACC (accused officials). I had to go through immense sufferings in jail. I had told ACC, I am not Salek, I am Jaha Alam. But they did not believe me,” Alam added.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader passed the order yesterday, asking to acquit Alam from 26 graft cases, where he was wrongly implicated.
“We are not in support of keeping an innocent even a minute behind bars,” the court said in its order.
The court also asked ACC to identify the persons behind the botched investigation, or else, the court has to ‘intervene’ in this.
A total of 33 cases were filed against one Abu Salek for misappropriating around Taka 18.5 crore of Sonali Bank. The ACC filed charge sheet in 26 of those cases, identifying Jaha Alam as Abu Salek.
Jaha Alam at that time went to ACC office and pleaded not guilty, saying he is not Abu Salek. His plea however, went unheard. Jaha Alam was arrested in the cases on February 6, 2016, and was being rotting in jail since then. Recently a national daily make a report on the sufferings of Alam and Supreme Court lawyer Amit Das Gupta drew court’s attention to that.