Dhaka, May 20 -- A Dhaka court has sentenced Bidisha Ershad, the former wife of late president Hussain Muhammad Ershad, to two years of rigorous imprisonment in a fraud case involving the sale of a residential flat.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam delivered the verdict on Wednesday.

The prosecution's lawyer Hemayet Uddin Khan Heron confirmed the development, noting that the court also slapped her with a Tk 10,000 fine, a failure to pay which will result in an additional month in prison.

Since Bidisha is currently absconding, the magistrate issued an arrest warrant along with a conviction warrant to secure her apprehension, the lawyer said.

The legal battle dates back to 2008 when a businessman named Mosharraf Hossain Sikder...