Ex-CCC mayor Mahmudul cleared of graft charges

A Chittagong court on Thursday acquitted former Chittagong City Corporation mayor Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury in a corruption case over misappropriating Tk 23 lakh from CCC fund.

The allegation was that Mahmudul during his mayoral tenure in 1989 directed CCC's account officers to cut one percent from the city corporation's contractors' bill, and established a separate fund with the amount from which Tk 10 lakh was later donated to Chittagong Press Club, while the rest was misappropriated. The then Anti-corruption Bureau filed the case. The city corporation failed to submit any document regarding the fund, said the defense lawyer, adding that Mahmudul donated the money to CPC from his personal fund.