Eng Mosharraf relieved of 2007 graft charges
A Chittagong court yesterday relieved Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain of corruption charges brought against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in 2007.
The court of Chittagong Divisional Special Judge Mir Ruhul Amin delivered the verdict, said Kazi Sanwar Ahmed Lavlu, public prosecutor for the ACC.
In the first information record (FIR), it was stated that illegal transaction was made in the bank accounts of Mosharraf and his wife and therefore charge was brought against him under section 161, the PP said.
However, Mosharraf's lawyer pleaded his client's release from the case arguing that Mosharraf has no connection with the charge since his wife was neither made an accused nor a witness in the charge sheet placed before the court on July 30, 2008.
The court then released him from the charge, but framed charge against Fakhrul Anwar as another accused in the case, Rafiqul Anwar, passed away.
According to case documents, on November 20 in 2012, the High Court ordered to quash proceedings of the case against Mosharraf after accepting a writ petition filed by him.
However, a four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, on May 8 in 2016 set aside the HC order, clearing the way for the ACC to resume proceedings of the case, said the PP.
According to the FIR, in 2000, Minister Mosharraf with the connivance of two others misused his power to allocate a 1.44 bigha land to a commercial building complex on a parking space in the city's Agrabad commercial area in exchange for “illegal gratification”.
On May 22, 2007, Chittagong ACC's Assistant Director Jahangir Alam filed a corruption case with Double Mooring Police Station in this connection.
On July 30 in 2008, Jahangir, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted a charge sheet against three persons -- Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, former member of parliament from Awami League Rafiqul Anwar and his brother Fakhrul Anwar.