Dhaka Court Acquits BNP Leader Mirza Abbas and Others in 127 Crore Taka Corruption Cases

A Dhaka court on Thursday acquitted Mirza Abbas, a standing committee member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a former government minister, in 15 separate corruption cases involving the alleged misappropriation of 1.27 billion taka through the irregular sale of state-owned properties.

Judge Muhammad Kamrul Hasan Khan of Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 delivered the verdict, clearing Abbas and his co-defendants of all charges. The cases, filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), accused the defendants of irregularities in the sale of 18 abandoned government houses located in the Gulshan, Dhanmondi, and Shantinagar areas of the capital.

Defense lawyer Shahinur Islam confirmed the acquittals, stating that the cases were politically motivated and initiated with the intent to malign and frame the defendants. Following the conclusion of the trial, during which the court recorded the testimonies of 23 out of 24 prosecution witnesses, the judge ruled in favor of the accused.

The ACC filed the 15 cases on March 29, 2007, and formally framed charges against the defendants on September 25 of the same year. According to the prosecution, the government suffered a financial loss of 1.27 billion taka due to manipulated bidding processes conducted through the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).

Three snake hatchlings discovered in Bangladesh Secretariat spark panic among staff

Read Article

Prosecutors alleged that while serving as the Minister of Housing and Public Works, Mirza Abbas abused his power to influence the sale of the properties. The charges claimed that he authorized the sale of the houses to selected individuals at lower prices through RAJUK, while deliberately ignoring higher bids submitted to the Public Works Department.

The cases were pursued under sections 409 and 109 of the Penal Code and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. Among the other acquitted defendants were SM Zafar Ullah, Emdadul Islam, Mohammad Ali, Golam Nabi, Kazi Riazul Monir, Ziauddin Ahmed, Abdus Sadek, Humayan Khan, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury, and Shahid Alam.

Additionally, senior BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and businessman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, who were named in two of the cases, were also cleared of all charges. Other individuals named in various individual cases, including Mehedi Hasan, Shafiqur Rahman Kiron, Nuruchafa, Shukur Mia, Hasna Ahmed, and Ali Haider Chowdhury, were also acquitted by the court.