Shajahan Siraj, wife, son jailed for 8 years

The Fourth Special Court on Wednesday sentenced former jute and textiles minister Shajahan Siraj, his wife Rabeya Siraj and their son Rajib Siraj to eight years' imprisonment each in connection with two offences of tax evasion.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Special Tribunal-12 sentenced detained Dhaka City Corporation Ward Commissioner Chowdhury Alam to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with extorting Tk 20 lakh from a market owner in August 2003.
The court fined Shajahan Siraj and his son Rajib Tk 2 lakh each, in default of which they would have to stay in jail one more year. Rabeya Siraj was fined Tk 1 lakh, in default of which she would have to serve an additional six months in jail.
Shajahan Siraj and his family members were handed down the sentences under section 165 and 166 of Income Tax Ordinance, 1984 for concealing information and giving false information about their properties and wealth to National Board of Revenue (NBR) in different tax years.
Judge Shamsunnahar's special court, set up at the MP hostel on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises, sentenced Shajahan and his son to eight years' rigorous imprisonment for two offences while Rabeya Siraj was sentenced to eight years' simple jail for the same number of offences. The verdict also said the three-year and five-year sentences, for the two offences, against Shajahan and Rajib would take effect consecutively while the same sentences against Rabeya would take effect concurrently.
NBR Assistant Commissioner Rahima Khatun, Assistant Tax Commissioner Pratap Chandra Pal and Deputy Tax Commissioner Abul Kalam Azad filed a total of 11 cases against Shajahan, Rabeya and Rajib on July 16. Of the cases, five were filed against Rabeya, five against Rajib and one against Shajahan.
On August 27, the same court sentenced Rabeya to 32 years' simple imprisonment in four tax evasion cases. Rabeya will have to serve only five years in jail as the court ordered that her sentences would run concurrently.
A court also issued arrest warrants against the three who are absconding since the filing of the cases. They were tried in absentia. The sentences against the three would take effect from the date of their arrest or surrender before the court.
Senior Special Judge Mohammad Azizul Haq of Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka, issued arrest warrants against the three on July 17 following the filing of the cases as the charges brought against them were preliminarily found to be true.
Charges were framed at the special court against the accused on August 8 while recording of witnesses' deposition began on August 12.
Farzana Khan, daughter-in-law of Shajahan and wife of Rajib and also the managing director of Garden Fresh Preservations Ltd in Savar, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment on August 15 in another tax evasion case.
Syed Zakir Hossain, deputy tax commissioner of Companies Circle of NBR, had filed the case in connection with evading income tax of Tk 80.45 lakh between fiscal years 2004-2005 and 2006-2007 and concealing of information about her real income of Tk 2.91 crore.
Judgment of four other tax evasion cases against Rajib will be pronounced on September 5. The court fixed the date for delivering judgment on August 28.
INDIVIDUAL OFFENCES
Rabeya bought 3.28 katha and 2.6 katha of land worth Tk 4.12 lakh and Tk 2.6 lakh on July 14, 2005 at Sutrapur in the capital, which she did not mention in her wealth statement and her tax return submitted in 2006-2007 fiscal year, NBR sources said.
According to NBR sources, Rajib in his tax return submitted in 2004-2005 fiscal year concealed information about Tk 6.36 lakh he spent with credit cards of two banks in 2004. Rajib in the tax return also concealed information about his balance of about Tk 44.89 lakh in a bank account. Rajib also concealed information about the interest he received from the money kept in that account.
Prosecution sources said Shajahan in his tax return submitted in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 fiscal years concealed information about his properties and wealth and thus evaded tax on them.
The information he concealed includes Tk 8.49 lakh he spent in arranging his daughters' marriage ceremony at Shena Kunja. He also concealed information about power bills and the money he drew from a bank with credit card during the period, sources added.
VERDICT AGAINST CHOWDHURY ALAM
A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced detained Dhaka City Corporation Ward Commissioner Chowdhury Alam to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case filed for extorting Tk 20 lakh from a market owner in August 2003.
Judge Mohammad Shafiul Azam of the Metropolitan Special Tribunal-12 gave the verdict sentencing Alam for the first time. He is also accused in a dozen criminal cases.
The court had acquitted three of his accomplices--Delwar Hossain alias Ripon, Harunur Rashid and Rezaul Talukder--as the charges brought against them were not proved.
Earlier, the prosecution and the defence had completed their arguments and the court recorded statements of nine prosecution witnesses.
According to the prosecution, Alam and his accomplices took Tk 20 lakh in toll from Babul Miah, owner of Bangladesh Super Market adjacent to the Police Headquarters on August 30, 2003.
The victim's wife Aleya Begum filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station against Alam and 24 others on May 7 this year. The investigation officer (IO) pressed charges against Alam and three others on June 18.
Alam had surrendered to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka and sought bail but the court rejected his bail petition and ordered him to be sent to jail on February 27.
He surrendered after joint forces started arresting the bigwigs for their alleged involvement with corruption.