5 acquitted of graft cases

The High Court yesterday acquitted former Jamaat-e Islami lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury, Awami Swechchasebak League General Secretary Pankaj Debnath, and three others of corruption charges for which lower courts sentenced them to imprisonment for different terms.
The three others acquitted are former power secretary ANH Akhter Hossain, Faisal Morshed Khan, son of former BNP foreign minister M Morshed Khan, and Mir Helal Uddin, son of BNP leader and former state minister Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin.
An HC bench comprised of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque acquitted the five in separate judgements in response to appeals filed by them against the verdicts of lower courts.
Special courts set up during the tenure of caretaker government sentenced them in separate graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Meanwhile, ACC lawyer MA Aziz Khan said the anti-graft body is yet to decide whether it would file appeals with the Supreme Court against the HC judgements.
On April 13, 2008, a special court sentenced Shahjahan Chowdhury to 10 years' imprisonment for accumulating illegal wealth and concealing information about it.
This court the same day sentenced Faisal Morshed Khan to seven years in jail for aiding and abetting Shahjahan.
On July 1, 2007, ACC Deputy Director Abul Kalam filed the case with Bandar Police Station in Chittagong against Shahjahan on charge of concealing information on wealth worth Tk 50.49 lakh in his wealth statement to the ACC.
On August 26, 2007, another special court sentenced Pankaj to 13 years' imprisonment in a similar case.
Pankaj was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous and three years' simple imprisonment under the ACC Act for accumulating wealth worth over Tk 64 lakh illegally and concealing information from the ACC about Tk 4.64 lakh.
Akhter Hossain was awarded 10 years' imprisonment on January 30, 2008, for amassing wealth beyond known sources of his income and concealing wealth information.
ACC Assistant Director Mahbubul Alam filed the graft case against Akhter and his wife Nazeen Banu with Uttara Police Station on May 31, 2007.
According to the case, Akhter obtained wealth worth Tk 2.23 crore by abusing power and concealed information about Tk 80 lakh in a statement submitted to the ACC earlier.
On July 4, 2007, Helal Uddin was sentenced to three years in jail for aiding his father in protecting their property amassed "illegally".
Barrister Abdur Razzaq appeared for Shahjahan and AJ Mohammad Ali for Akhter.
Pankaj, Faisal and Helal were defended by advocate Ahsanul Karim.