Bangladesh News

Tajul Islam Farook who filed a Tk 3 crore extortion case against detained Awami League chief and former premier Sheikh Hasina in April last year is also accused in a case.

The case was filed for selling two luxurious vehicles he had bought taking loan from Bangladesh Finance and Investment Company (BFIC) breaching the deed of agreement and aiming at embezzling those.

Farook’s wife Sultana Akhter was a guarantor of the loan and is also an accused.

BFIC Legal and Recovery Officer Emdad Ullah filed the case with Motijheel Police Station on January 21 under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (breach of trust) and 109 (abetment) of the Bangladesh Penal Code following recovery of one vehicle.

Besides, charges were also brought against Tajul for not paying instalments as per the agreement.

Investigation officer of the case Sub-inspector Ezaz Shafi told The Daily Star they have started gathering evidence and would soon start operation to arrest Tajul.

The complainant mentioned in the case that Tajul took a loan of over Tk 1.4 crore on March 14 in 2003 from BFIC and purchased two vehicles — a BMW at Tk 64 lakh and a Honda Civic at Tk 28.5 lakh.

The case statement says BFIC was the legal owner of the vehicles as both the vehicles were registered in its name. Tajul was supposed to pay the loan with interest in instalments in 36 months. But he paid the instalment of February 2007 in June and since then he did not pay any instalment.

The complainant also mentioned that Tajul did not pay heed to pay instalments though his company informed him. Rather, he sold out one of the two vehicles in a bid to embezzle it.

He told The Daily Star though Tajul was supposed to pay back Tk 1.35 crore, he has so far paid only Tk 41 lakh.

Police said one of the two vehicles was recovered from Buet quarters on the campus on January 11 and a general diary was lodged in this connection.

Chairman of Westmont Power Company, Tajul has become a known figure after he filed the extortion case against Hasina with Tejgaon Police Station on April 9 last year.