Bangladesh News

The police arrested Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran at his residence in the city’s Chhararpar area early yesterday.
The same day the Sylhet Sadar Cognisance Magistrate’s Court sent him to jail when he was produced before it at about 9:00am.

Kamran was held in a graft case filed in 2003. After arrest at around 6:00am, he was taken to the Kotwali Police Station. There, he protested his innocence and told the newsmen that the case against him was lodged out of political vengeance by the then BNP government.

“I will face the conspiracy in the court and hope to get back to the people soon,” he added.

The police raided houses of 17 other accused in the same case on Thursday night but failed to capture any, an official said.

Earlier on Thursday, the District and Sessions Judge’s Court, Sylhet issued a warrant for arrest of the SCC mayor in the case filed for alleged irregularities in leasing out a kitchen market.

Besides, it rejected the bail prayers of the accused and sent the case to the Divisional Special Judge’s Court for trial. April 12 was set as the date for charge-framing and the accused to appear before the court.

Kamran is the second mayor to be arrested in the ongoing anti-graft drive. Chittagong Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury was detained last month.

The Cognisance Magistrate’s Court, Sylhet Sadar, sent the case dossier to the District Judge’s Court after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on February 7 filed a charge sheet against 19 people in the graft case.

The trial scheduled to begin on March 27 was deferred till April 5 due to absence of the district judge.

The charge-sheeted are Mayor Kamran, Ward Commissioners Syed Ahmed Hossain, Abdul Quaiyum Jalali, Santanu Dutta, Abdul Wadud Khaled, Saleh Ahmed Chowdhury, Sazzadur Rahman, Syed Misbahuddin, Faruque Ahmed, Mohammad Shahjahan, and former ward commissioners Humayun Kabir Shahin, Pradip Bhattacharya, Azharuddin Jahangir, Oliur Rahman Chowdhury, Maksud Bakht, Bidhan Chandra Kapali and former executive engineer of the then Sylhet Municipality Padma Sen Sinha, and SCC storekeeper Saiful Alam. Also among them is Ward Commissioner and city Jubo League General Secretary Azadur Rahman Azad who is already behind bars on different other charges.

According to the ACC charge sheet, the accused had leased out Shibganj Bazaar of the SCC without any tender or permission from the ministry concerned. They had allegedly made around Tk 23 lakh from the lease.