Suspended ACC director Basir sent to jail in bribery case

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Khandaker Enamul Basir, suspended director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, to jail after rejecting his bail prayer in a case filed over the transaction of Tk 40 lakh as bribe.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka passed the order after ACC produced him before it and appealed to the court to send him to jail.

ACC Director Sheikh Md Fanafilya, who is also the investigation officer of the case, in his forwarding report placed before the court said Basir had committed an offence by taking Tk 40 lakh as bribe from suspended DIG Mizan for clearing him of a graft allegation.

Moreover, it was learned from different sources that Basir  was trying to flee the country. He was also trying to damage vital evidence and tamper with witnesses, Fanafilya said.

If Basir gets bail, he can damage evidence and obstruct investigation. Therefore he should be sent to jail, he added.

In the same case, another accused DIG Mizan was earlier shown arrested and was sent to jail, Fanafilya said.

Defence lawyer Md Kabir Hossain submitted a petition seeking bail in the case, saying that his client was not involved with taking bribe from the police official. His client was implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass him, and he should be granted bail, Kabir added.             

A team of ACC officials, led by Fanafilya, on Monday arrested Basir from Dhaka’s Mirpur area on charges of bribery.

On July 16, he filed the case with ACC’s Dhaka District Coordination Office-1 under anti-money laundering act.

Following a TV news report, in which DIG Mizan alleged that Basir took bribe from him for clearing him of a graft allegation, the ACC formed a three-member investigation committee headed by Fanafilya and suspended Basir.

In May last year, ACC launched an inquiry on Mizan and tasked Basir with the investigation.