Former Tejgaon land officers jailed in 12-yr-old graft case

A Dhaka court today sentenced a former settlement officer and former surveyor of Tejgaon Land Office to different terms of punishment in a graft case.

Former settlement officer Md Ashraf Ali Howlader was sentenced to five years in jail and was fined Tk 50,000. He was present in the court.

On the other hand, the former surveyor Md Monirul Islam, who is a fugitive, was jailed for two years and fined Tk 30,000.

If they fail to pay the fine, they will serve nine month more each in jail, said the judge.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka Special Judge Court-9 handed down the sentences after cross-examination of seven prosecution witnesses in the case.

The punishment of the fugitive will be effective from the day of his arrest or surrender, said the judge.

Two other accused--Abdul Hakim and Nurunnabi Firoze--died during the trial and their names were dropped from the charges of the case.

According to the case statement, it was alleged that one Swarna Khan bought 3.5 decimals of land in the city's Dakshinkhan area in 1987 but in 2007 the then settlement officer, in collusion with other accused, ordered to record the scheduled property in the name of Nurunnabi Firoze even though he was not the real owner.

Following the incident, Swarna Khan challenged it with the higher court and won in the legal battle.

On September 8 of 2011, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against Md Ashraf Ali Howlader and three others with Tejgaon Police Station.

After an investigation, the ACC pressed charges against them on December 29 of 2012.