Graft Case: Mirza Abbas indicted
A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas, former state minister and BNP leader Alamgir Kabir and a former government official in a case filed for causing Tk 16 crore losses to the state.
Bijon Kanti Sarker, former joint secretary of housing and public works ministry, has been indicted in the case.
Two other officials were acquitted of the charges. They are National Housing Authority Cashier Mansur Alam and Assistant Cashier Motiar Rahman.
Abbas, now on bail, pleaded not guilty after Judge Aminul Haque of the Special Judge Court-4 read out the charges to him. Charges were framed against Kabir and Bijon in absentia and arrest warrants were issued for them.
The court set January 1 next year to start the trial of the case.
On January 6 this year, Abbas, who stands accused in several other criminal cases, was sent to jail after his surrender before the same court in connection with the same case.
The case was filed with Shahbagh Police Station on March 6, 2014, on charges of allocating seven acres of land of Rajuk to a journalists' cooperative society at a rate lower than the actual value.
Abbas was the minister of housing and public works and Kabir was the state minister during the rule of the BNP-led coalition.
On February 16 last year, Hamidul Hassan, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission and also investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet against the five accused to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka, showing 17 people as prosecution witnesses.
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