Gulam Rabbani :
Thousands of corruption cases are continuing in the subordinate courts across the country and also in the Supreme Court.
However, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is busy with some particular cases, filed against the leaders of the opposition parties especially the BNP, when a national election is knocking at the door.
Unprecedentedly a special court in Dhaka is recording the statements of the witnesses almost every day in a graft case filed against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman. The ACC’s activities in recent days may seem like that they have no other cases except this one.
BNP’s top two leaders, Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman, are already convicted in different corruption and criminal cases. It may be a cause of hurry up of the ACC to proceed the graft case to convict Zubaida Rahman who is considered as one of the alternatives to lead the BNP in the next election time in absence of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman as they are convicted.
Some of the prosecution witnesses have already given their depositions in the case. The court also rejected a plea of the lawyers who prayed to represent the accused couple during the trial proceedings.
Senior Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan who usually deals the big cases of the ACC said, “When a case comes to us, we do not see whether it was filed against an Awami League or BNP leader. We work on it. Cases were filed against BNP leaders long ago. Those are naturally coming up on the cause-lists in the courts.”
However, Barrister Kayser Kamal, a counsel of Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman and also Legal Affairs Secretary of BNP,
said the fundamental part here is that this case was filed for political purposes and it is still continuing for political purposes.
The lawyer futher said, “The government has brought the case to this stage by using the state machinery to serve their political purpose. In this case, the court is testifying every day which is unprecedented. Its purpose is to weaken the ongoing movement against the government.
The case is being rushed forward so that the top leaders of BNP cannot participate in the next national elections after the formation of a caretaker government. It is unfortunate that the government is controlling the judiciary. There are more corruption cases in court. Dates are being fixed after two or three months in those cases.”
A High Court bench recently upheld the trial court verdict that sentenced BNP leader Amanullah Aman for 13 years’ jail and his wife Sabera Aman for three years’ jail in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
It also upheld another trial court verdict that handed down nine years’ jail sentence to another BNP leader Iqbal Hasan Mahmood Tuku in a graft case.
The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat delivered the verdicts after dismissing the appeals filed by Aman, Tuku and Sabera challenging the lower court verdicts on them. The HC also directed the accused to surrender before the lower courts concerned in two weeks in connection with the cases.
The Supreme Court on Thursday last upheld its earlier order that directed the lower court concerned to finish in six months the trial proceedings of a money laundering case against former BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim.
Different government organizations including the ACC are also active with the cases filed against Nobel Laureate and Grameen Telecom Chairman Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus who is also being considered as a big role player during the next parliament election.
The Anti-Corruption Commission last week filed a case against Nobel Laureate and Grameen Telecom Chairman Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus and 12 others for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of about Tk 25 crore from the company’s Workers Profit Participation Fund ( WPPF).
The commission’s Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Pradhan filed the case with Dhaka District Coordinated Office -1, said ACC Director General Rezanur Rahman.
