Officials of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) have arrested its suspended director, Khandaker Enamul Basir, in connection with an alleged exchange of Tk40 lakh in bribes.
Basir was arrested from a house in the Darus Salam area in Dhaka around 10:20pm on Monday, confirmed his lawyer Kamal Hossain.
The arrest came about a week after the commission, on July 16, had filed a case with the anti-graft watchdog’s Integrated District Office-1 in Dhaka against Basir and suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Mizanur Rahman in the bribery case.
The case was lodged after forensic tests confirmed authenticity of the audio clips involving the two respective officials where they spoke on financial transactions.
Earlier, the ACC enforcement teams conducted drives in Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur and Azimpur area thrice, but failed.
Basir, who was tasked with investigating the sources of properties belonging to DIG Mizan, reportedly leaked the probe report to the DIG in exchange of bribes.
In a dramatic turn of events, Basir was suspended on these grounds, while Mizan, who faces corruption charges of amassing illegal wealth, was handed down a similar punishment.
During a television interview, DIG Mizan claimed that Enamul Basir took bribes promising him a clean chit.
Audio clips of mobile conversations between the duo were aired on television.
On June 24, the ACC filed a case against Mizanur Rahman, his wife, brother and nephew accusing them of amassing illegal wealth.
The ACC has found evidence of Mizanur’s illegal assets worth over Tk30.7 million.
On July 2, a Dhaka court sent Mizanur Rahman to jail after turning down his bail appeal in a graft case filed by the anti-corruption agency.
Last year, the ACC launched a probe into the wealth of DIG Mizan after he was relieved of duties following allegations of torturing a woman. Basir was a member of the ACC probe team tasked to probe the DIG’s wealth.