A Chittagong court has sentenced 10-year term for two former officials of Telephone and Telegraph Board including its Chittagong divisional engineer in two separate sections on charge of embezzling Tk64 lakh by cheque forgery in 1993.
The two were also fined with Tk32 lakh under a section, said court sources.
The Chittagong Divisional Special Judge Mir Ruhul Amin passed the order on Wednesday.
The convicts – T&T’s former Divisional Engineer Kamrul Hasan and former Section Officer Mohammad Hossain – are on the run, said the sources.
The Anti-Corruption Commission’s Public Prosecutor Mahmudul Haque Mahmud said as the charges were proved against the accused beyond any doubt; so, the court sentenced the verdict in two separate sections under Corruption Prevention Act-1947.
“In one section, both the accused were awarded five- year term while they also got another five-year term in another section under the act while the court ordered to execute both the term periods simultaneously,” he said.
The convicts have to serve a total five-year term according to court order.
According to the case documents, the then Anti-Corruption Bureau lodged a case against the two bringing allegation that they misappropriating Tk64 lakh at Chittagong Divisional Engineer Office from 1993’s May 10 to August 9 after withdrawing bill of T&T from Bangladesh Bank by forging cheque.
Anti-Corruption Bureau’s the then Inspector AKM Nurul Huda Azad lodged the case with Double mooring police station on October 30, 1999 under sections 409, 420, 468, 477 (A), 109 and 5(2) under Corruption Prevention Act 1947.
On June 26, 2012, ACC’s Deputy Assistant Director Humayun Kabir submitted the charge sheet while the court framed charges against the accused on May 30, 2013.
The court sentenced the verdict under sections 409 and 477 (A) of the act after testifying seven prosecution witnesses out of 22.