Wife of Obaidul Quader jailed for 8yrs
An anti-graft court yesterday sentenced Isratunnesa, wife of detained Awami League (AL) Joint General Secretary Obaidul Quader, to eight years' jail in a tax evasion case.
The court also fined Isratunnesa Tk 2 lakh in default of which she will have to serve one year more in jail. She was tried in absentia.
Judge Shamsunnahar of the fourth special court at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar MP Hostel delivered the verdict under separate sections of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1984.
The court also ordered that two flats at Maghbazar and Segunbagicha, owned by Isratunnesa, be confiscated to the state.
Isratunnesa, however, will have to serve five years' jail term, as both the sentences will run concurrently. Her jail term will begin from the day of her surrender or arrest.
She was handed down three years' simple imprisonment under Section 165 of the income tax ordinance for giving false information and five years' rigorous imprisonment under Section 166 of the ordinance for concealing information about wealth.
Assistant tax commissioner of National Board of Revenue (NBR) Nigar Sultana filed the case on August 7. A Dhaka court issued arrest warrant against her the following day.
In the case statement, the complainant said that in the tax years from 2000-2001 to 2006-2007, Isratunnesa had evaded income tax upon her income of Tk 97,26,716. Moreover, she concealed her real income while submitting her income tax return to the NBR's tax department.
Isratunnesa concealed information about Tk 17 lakh in 2000-2001 tax year, about 1 lakh in 2001-2002, 52 lakh in 2002-2003, Tk 6 lakh in 2003-2004, Tk 6 lakh in 2004-2005, Tk 6 lakh in 2005-2006 and Tk 7 lakh in 2006-2007.
In doing so, she had evaded a total of Tk 18,73,377 income tax, the complainant added.
Charges were framed against Isratunnesa on August 29. Five witnesses gave their deposition in the case.
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