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Published : 20 Mar 2025, 02:00 PM
A Dhaka court has acquitted eight individuals, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, of charges involving taking Tk 210 million in bribes for giving clean chit to Bashundhara Group Vice Chairman Shafiat Sobhan Sanvir in the murder case of Bashundhara Group Director Humayun Kabir Sabbir
Judge Md Abu Taher of the Dhaka Special Judge's Court cleared them of the allegations on Thursday.
Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, aka Shah Alam, his two sons Shafiat Sobhan and Sadat Sobhan, Abu Sufian, Qazi Salimul Haque Kamal, aka Econo Kamal, and Miah Nur Uddin Apu, former assistant private secretary of Tarique are the other suspects acquitted in the case.
Among them, Abu Sufian and Kamal were present in court on Thursday. Lawyer Borhan Uddin said that the other defendants out on bail had petitioned for more time.
On Oct 4, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against the eight suspects and in April the following year, the anti-graft watchdogs filed the charge sheet.
On Jul 4, 2006, Sabbir, a director of Bashundhara Telecommunications Network Ltd, was killed and his brother-in-law AFM Asif filed the case three days later.
It mentioned that Sabbir was thrown from the roof of House No. 3/G owned by Bashundhara Group at Road No. 104 in Gulshan.
The speedy trial tribunal framed charges against five accused in the case, including Shafiat. In 2011, the tribunal acquitted Shafiat and four others on the murder charges, saying the prosecution had “failed” to produce witnesses and evidence.
In 2016, the High Court issued a rule asking why the verdict should not be overturned, but the matter failed to move forward.
The bribery case alleges that after Sabbir’s death, Shafiat fled to London and his father Akbar began lobbying to save his son, causing the investigation into the case to “stagnate”.
The ACC said Shah Alam held a “meeting” with Tarique and then state minister for home affairs Babar in an effort to put a lid on the matter. Tarique and Babar demanded Tk 1 billion from Shah Alam and later settled for Tk 500 million, it said.
According to the allegations, Babar took Tk 210 million from Babar per the contract. From that, Abu Sufian “handed over” Tk 10 million to Tarique’s PS Apu.
Babar “received Tk 50 million in cash” through Abu Sufian and “entrusted” it to Kamal, the ACC said. On Babar's instructions, Abu Sufian gave the remaining Tk 150 million to Kamal “using 20 cheques” at different branches of Prime Bank.
Assistant Superintendent Md Arman Ali of the Central Investigation Department (CID) submitted a charge sheet in the bribery case on May 12, 2008.
On Jul 14, 2008, the court framed charges and began the trial, but the proceedings remained suspended for a long time.
