Shah Alam acquitted

A Dhaka court has acquitted Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan Shah Alam and 16 others of murder charges following an appeal from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan passed the order on January 10 clearing Shah Alam and others of Manik Chandra Sarkar murder case.
In the order, the magistrate said complainant of the case Ratan Chandra Sarkar was served several notices to appear before the court to testify whether the CID report was true.
The plaintiff, however, did not appear. So the final report was accepted and all the accused in the case were cleared of the charge, the magistrate said.
According to the prosecutor, hired goons led by employees of Bashundhara Housing Project swooped on the residents of Amdiartek on November 16, 2006 in a bid to grab their lands. Several people were injured in the incident. Manik succumbed to his injuries that day.
CID Inspector ABM Zakir Hossain, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, on November 3 last year submitted the final report finding no evidence to press charges against the accused.
In the probe report the IO said he and nine of his colleagues had investigated the case and tried to find out the facts. They did not find any evidence against Shah Alam and the others and further investigation would not be much fruitful. So he submitted the final report clearing all the accused of the murder charge, the IO added.
Victim's brother Ratan Chandra filed the murder case against Shah Alam and several others with Badda Police Station. Police arrested 15 people in this connection.
On August 23 last year, Shah Alam, a fugitive for long, surrendered before a Dhaka court and obtained bail in this case.
On March 20, he was sent to jail after his surrender and bail prayers in two cases in which he was earlier sentenced ten years' imprisonment in absentia. The cases were filed during the caretaker government rule for tax evasion and keeping foreign currency at his Gulshan residence illegally.
He was granted bails in other graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in connection with allegedly giving Tk 21 crore in bribe to save his son Shafial Sobhan Sanvir from Humayun Kabir Sabbir murder case and to take possession of a government house at a price lower than the market value. Shah Alam was also sued for amassing illegal wealth and land grabbing.