HC hands DIG Mizan over to police

The High Court yesterday handed over suspended DIG Mizanur Rahman to the police after he appeared before it and sought bail in a corruption case.

The HC also ordered the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to produce Mizan before the senior special judge’s court in Dhaka within 24 hours.

Later, in the afternoon, the top-ranking police officer was taken to Shahbagh Police Station. He was there till last night.

“We have taken him to Shahbagh Police Station. We will produce him before the court concerned tomorrow morning as per the High Court order,” Maruf Hossain Sorder, deputy commissioner (Ramna Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star.

On June 24, the ACC filed the graft case with its Integrated District Office in Dhaka against Mizan, his wife Sohelia Anar Ratna and nephew Mahmudul Hasan, a sub-inspector of police, on charges of amassing over Tk 3 crore beyond known source of income.

The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice SM Kuddus Zaman passed the order after summarily rejecting Mizan’s petition seeking anticipatory bail in the case.

During the hearing, the court commented that Mizanur Rahman has completely destroyed the image of the police department and as well as the country through his activities.

It has been seen on TV that he (Mizan) confessed to giving bribe to an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) official. He cannot be granted bail, Justice Obaidul Hassan said.

The HC bench also summarily rejected another anticipatory bail petition of the suspended deputy inspector general’s nephew (sister’s son) Mahmudul in connection with the same case and directed him to surrender before the trial court within 72 hours.

Earlier in the day, Mizanur and Mahmudul appeared before the HC bench and filed separate bail petitions.    

Advocate Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi argued for Mizanur while Advocate Aminul Islam stood for Mahmudul during yesterday’s hearing. Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.

During the hearing, Momtaz told the court that Mizan was a “very honest officer”.

When Mizan was an additional commissioner of police, he was awarded a gold medal for his courageous role in preventing extremism and terrorism, the lawyer said, adding that his client would not leave the country if granted bail.

Following placing of this argument, the HC bench passed the order and made the comments.    

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Mizan should land in jail after police will produce him before the trial court.

Asked, Mizan’s lawyer Momtaz said he did not know whether his client would seek bail from the lower court.

Mahmudul’s lawyer Aminul told this newspaper that his client will surrender to the trial court in 72 hours in line with the HC order. A bail petition will be moved before the lower court on his surrender, he added.

MIZAN SKIPS ACC QUIZZING

Meanwhile, Mizan yesterday skipped ACC quizzing in connection with his allegation that he bribed an official of the commission.

ACC source said the suspended DIG cited “personal reasons” for not appearing before the commission.

“He [Mizan], however, said he will show up at any date fixed by the ACC,” said an official of the commission, adding that the commission fixed July 8 for the interrogation.

ACC official Khandaker Enamul Basir, who allegedly took bribe from Mizan, also did not come to the commission yesterday to face questioning.

In a letter, Basir said he could not come due to his illness. The commission later fixed July 10 for the quizzing.

Soon after the allegation of bribery surfaced in the media, ACC formed a three-member committee headed by ACC Director Sheikh Md Fanafillah and assistant directors Gulshan Anowar Pradhan and Md Salauddin to investigate the matter.

Mizan had come under the scanner in January last year when he was accused of forcibly marrying and torturing a woman. Later, he was withdrawn from his post at Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and the ACC opened an investigation into him in May last year.

The ACC investigation said Mizanur amassed Tk 3.28 crore illegally over a period of 20 years.

He made the money by taking bribes and being involved in other corruptions, the probe report said, adding that between 1998 and 2018, Mizan earned Tk 4.63 crore, but only Tk 1.35 crore of it came from legal sources.

After finishing the probe, the ACC recorded a case against the police official on June 24 this year.

The ACC investigation had stumbled after Mizan raised an allegation of giving Tk 40 lakh as bribe to ACC deputy director and former inquiry officer Khandaker Enamul Basir. He had reportedly promised to free Mizan from the allegations.

After that, ACC suspended Basir and formed a fresh three-member committee to do the inquiry. The committee submitted the report recently, and the ACC approved the filing of a case against Mizan.

The commission also formed another committee to investigate the allegation that DIG Mizan bribed Basir.

As a part of the probe, the commission summoned Mizan and Basir for interrogation on July 1. The ACC also asked senior reporter of ATN News Imran Hossain Sumon to appear before it on June 26. The television channel first aired a report where Mizan brought the allegation.