A court in Bogra issued an order to freeze bank accounts and confiscate illegal properties owned by suspended Jubo League leader Matin Sarker, the brother of Tufan Sarker who became notorious after allegedly raping a teenager in 2017, as part of an investigation into allegations of financial fraud.
The court led by Senior Special Judge Naresh Chandra Sarkar issued the order on 17 February, said Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Public Prosecutor Abul Kalam Azad on Monday.
Azad added the ACC filed two separate cases against Tufan Sarker and his elder brother Matin Sarker, for accumulating wealth beyond their declared income and concealing it from the commission.
Aminul Islam, assistant director of ACC’s Bogra integrated office, filed the cases with Bogra Sadar police station on 31 December, 2018.
According to one case statement, Tufan Sarker was accused for illegally acquiring Tk1.6 crore and concealing an account of Tk30 lakh in the wealth statement he submitted to the ACC.
In another case, Matin Sarker was accused of illegally accumulating Tk3 crore and concealing information about Tk2.15 crore.
ACC Assistant Director Aminul Islam, also the plaintiff, said he had been investigating the matter for over nine months, before filing the cases under the directives of the commission’s Rajshahi divisional office.
The investigation found major inconsistencies in the wealth statements submitted to the commission earlier.
The cases were filed under Section 26 (2) and 27 (1) of the ACC Act, 2004, he added.
In July of 2017, Tufan Sarker became notorious as an alleged rapist after several daily newspapers published reports about his alleged involvement in the rape of a teenager on July 17.
Later, when the victim and her mother tried to bring the matter to light, seeking justice, Tufan along with his brother, wife and other family members tortured and abused them on July 28.
The victim’s mother then filed a rape case against 10 people, and a torture case, under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act - 2000 against 13 people; including Tufan, his wife Asha Sarkar, and Asha's elder sister and woman councillor Rumki.
The incident drew widespread attention across the country and police detained 10 people, including Tufan, his wife Asha and his mother-in-law Ruma.
Tufan was expelled from his position as a Sramik League convener and his brother Matin was also expelled from the post of joint secretary of the Bogra unit Jubo League.
The ACC launched an investigation into Tufan and his brother and sent letters to them asking them to submit their wealth statements on March 6 and 7, respectively.
On October 10, police pressed charges against 13 people, including Tufan Sarkar, in the cases. However, both Tufan and his brother later secured bail from High Court.
