Tk 2,000cr Laundering: Two Faridpur UP chairmen sent to jail

A Dhaka court yesterday sent two union parishad chairmen of Faridpur to jail after their surrender in a Tk 2,000 crore money laundering case.

The chairmen are: Belayet Hossain Fakir of Kanaipur Union Parishad and Shahidul Islam Majnu of Ishan Gopalpur of Faridpur.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka passed the order after the two surrendered before it, seeking bail in the case.

During yesterday's hearing, the lawyers told the court that Belayet and Shahidul surrendered before the High Court on September 30 and November 26 last year respectively seeking bail in the case.

After the hearing, the HC granted them bail for four weeks and directed them to surrender before the sessions court before expiry of the period.

Their names came to light after two accused -- Sajjad Hossain alias Barkat and his brother Imtiaz Hasan Rubel -- named the two in their confessional statements given on July 26 last year.

CID has so far arrested 12 other accused, including Barkat and Rubel. Currently, Barkat, former Awami League general secretary of the unit, and Rubel, former president of Faridpur Press Club, and 10 other accused are in jail, while two others are on bail.

SM Miraj Al Mahmud, a CID inspector, lodged the case against Barkat and Rubel under the money laundering act with Kafrul Police Station on June 26 last year.

According to the case statement, they amassed huge amount of wealth after they won contracts from various government departments in the district through manipulation since 2010. They were allegedly involved in drug smuggling and land grabbing. The two became owners of around 23 buses, several trucks and cars.