According to the case allegations, the 18 abandoned government properties were located in Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Shantinagar, among other areas of the capital.
BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas/File Photo/Collected
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BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas/File Photo/Collected
A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas and 11 others in 15 cases over alleged irregularities and corruption involving the allocation of 18 abandoned government houses, causing a loss of Tk127.64 crore to the state.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 Judge Muhammad Kamrul Hasan Khan delivered the verdict today (27 August), Mirza Abbas’s lawyer Md Shahinur Islam confirmed.
According to court sources, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed 15 separate cases on 29 March 2007 against 21 people over alleged corruption involving the sale of 18 abandoned government houses and a state loss of Tk127.64 crore.
Mirza Abbas and 11 others were named as accused in all 15 cases.
The other accused were SM Zafar Ullah, Md Emdadul Islam, Mohammad Ali, Golam Nabi, Kazi Riazul Monir, Ziauddin Ahmed, Abdus Sadek, Humayun Khan, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury and Md Shahid Alam.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Ahmed Akbar Sobhan were accused in two cases each, while Mehedi Hasan, Shafikur Rahman Kiron, Nuruchchhafa, Md Shukur Mia, Hasna Ahmed and Ali Haider Chowdhury were accused in separate cases.
All of them were acquitted in the cases.
After completing its investigation, the ACC submitted charge sheets, following which Judge Shahed Nuruddin framed charges against the accused on 25 September 2007.
What the cases were about
According to the case allegations, the 18 abandoned government properties were located in Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Shantinagar, among other areas of the capital.
The properties included houses NW(I)-6 on Road 53 in Gulshan; K-6 on Road 89, CNG-16 on Road 113 and B-5 on Road 113 in Gulshan; several properties in Dhanmondi; two properties on College Street in Dhanmondi Residential Area; and House 7/1 in Nawraton Colony, Shantinagar.
The cases alleged that the houses were handed over to preferred individuals through manipulation and corruption in tenders arranged by Rajuk, causing a loss of Tk127.64 crore to the government.
The allegations further stated that the then housing and public works minister abused his power and exerted illegal influence with the intention of benefiting himself and other influential individuals.
Instead of arranging the sale of the 18 government houses in accordance with The Bangladesh Abandoned Property (Control, Management and Disposal) Order, 1972, he allegedly approved their sale through low-value tenders arranged by Rajuk, disregarding higher bids submitted by executive engineers of the Public Works Department.
During the trial, the court recorded the testimony of 23 of the 24 witnesses listed in the cases.
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