The Supreme Court yesterday stayed for four weeks a High Court order that granted bail to Mohammad Ali, a kanungo (land official) of Dhaka City Corporation, in a corruption case.

Mohammad Ali was sent to jail on September 28, on surrender. Earlier, he illegally managed to produce a person named Ahmed Ali acting on his behalf before a Dhaka court to secure bail in the case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission.

ACC's counsel Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Mohammad Ali cannot get released from jail following the SC order.

The ACC filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station on August 24 against Mohammad Ali on charge of committing forgery in allocating possessions of shops at Dhaka Trade Centre and misuse of powers between September 2009 and May 2010.

The ACC has reportedly received allegation against

Mohammad Ali of amassing a huge amount of money through illegal means, and it is now investigating this allegation.

Mohammad Ali was earlier sacked from his service on charge of misappropriating a huge amount of money through forging signature of the then DCC mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, according to a report published in the daily Kaier Kantha.

Citing the allegation received by the ACC, the report said Mohammad Ali, who was serving at the land properties section of DCC (north) before he was sent to jail, has constructed several houses in Dhaka and Noakhali and run several business establishments in the names of his parents.

He (Mohammad) bought a five-storey building at Shyamoli in Dhaka in the name of his wife, the report said, adding that he changed his political identity after the change of the government.

The HC on October 1 granted bail to Mohammad Ali in this case after hearinga bail petition filed by him.

Yesterday, chamber judge of the SC Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana stayed the HC order on the bail following an appeal filed by the ACC seeking stay on the HC order.