Bangladesh News

A special tribunal in Dhaka yesterday framed charges against detained former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar in connection with a case filed for possessing illegal firearms and ammunition at his residence.

Besides, a Dhaka court issued arrest warrants against Bashundhara Group Chairman and seven others after the National Board of Revenue (NBR) filed a case for evading Tk 8.48 crore between the financial years 2004 and 2007.

Judgement of a graft case against Awami League leader and former state minister for planning Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir will be delivered at a special court today.

BABAR ARMS CASE
Judge Sayed Jahed Mansur of the Special Tribunal-7 framed charges against Babar in connection with the arms case rejecting the petition submitted by the defence lawyers.

Babar pleaded not guilty and demanded justice before the court after the judge read out the charges to him.

The court fixed July 31 for trial of the case and summoned the complainant and other witnesses to appear before the court on the scheduled date.

The army-led joint forces recovered four firearms– a shotgun, a rifle, a pistol, and a Brazilian revolver– two magazines and 297 bullets during a raid in Babar’s Gulshan residence on May 28.

BASHUNDHARA CASE
Judge Mohammad Azizul Haq of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court passed the order after Kabiruddin Mollah, deputy tax commissioner of Circle-8, filed the case seeking arrest warrants against them.

The accused are Bashundhara Industrial Complex Limited, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan Shah Alam, its managing director and also Sobhan’s wife Afroza Begum, their sons– directors Sadat Sobhan, Safayet Sobhan and Sayem Sobhan, deputy director Mostafizur Rahman and MM Kuddus, proprietor of Kuddus & Company.

In his order, the judge said the arrest warrants were issued as the charges brought against them were found to be true.

The court fixed July 31 for next hearing of the case and directed the authorities concerned to send the copies of the arrest warrants to the respective police stations for implementing those within the scheduled date.

In his complaint, Kabir mentioned that Shah Alam and others had evaded a total of Tk 8,48,15,746 in income tax during fiscal years 2004 to 2007.

Shah Alam and others repeatedly gave false information to the income tax department about their real income and expenditure and did not show their income tax return.

ALAMGIR CASE
Judge Shahed Noor Uddin of the Third Special Court– set up at Shere-e-Bangla Nagar MP Hostel– will deliver today the verdict in presence of the accused.

The case cites inconsistencies between his wealth statement and the actual wealth.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) found that the accused did not declare in his wealth statement Tk 1.17 crore that he has in fixed deposit accounts.

NASER TO JAIL
Detained former BNP lawmaker M Naser Rahman, son of former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, was sent to jail yesterday on completion of ten-day remand in a graft case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mizanur Rahman passed the order after the ACC produced the arrestee before the court and prayed for sending him to jail until the investigation is completed.

SARWAR EXTORTION CASE
Barisal City Corporation Mayor Majibor Rahman Sarwar was shown arrested yesterday in a Tk 15 lakh extortion case filed with Gulshan Police Station on July 18.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mir Ali Reza passed the order after Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted a petition to show him arrested in the case.

UNB from Chittagong adds: a court here yesterday rejected the bail petition of detained former BNP lawmaker Sarwar Jamal Nizam.

After hearing, Metropolitan Sessions Judge AKM Anwar Hossain turned down the bail petition of Nizam, now in Chittagong jail on one month’s detention given by the CMM Court.

Joint forces arrested Nizam from the Chittagong Club gate on June 22 with three bottles of foreign liquor and five cans of beer.