A Dhaka court on Wednesday set April 19 for delivery of the judgment in the radar-purchase corruption case filed against Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman HM Ershad and three others.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Molla fixed the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence.
HM Ershad, also special envoy to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, did not appear before the court but his counsel was present on his behalf.
Two other accused, former chiefs of air staff Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Sultan Mahmud and Air Vice Marshal (retd) Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, were present on the day.
On March 17, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld its previous order to scrap a High Court decision that required completion of all 38 prosecution witness depositions. The trial hence proceeded on the basis of 12 already recorded witness statements.
Assistant superintendent of the then Anti-Corruption Bureau Md Ali Haider filed the case with Cantonment police station against five accused on April 4, 1992.
The accused were HM Ershad, Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Sultan Mahmud, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, United Traders owner Shazad Ali and Director AKM Musa.
AKM Musa has been absconding since beginning of the trial, while Shazad Al’s name was dropped from the charge sheet. The remaining are on bail.
Investigation officers Manjur Ahmed and Abdus Sattar Sarker submitted the charge sheet against Ershad and the three others on October 27, 1994. The charges were framed by the court on August 12, 1995.
In the case, the complainant alleged that Ershad, in collusion with the other accused, had allegedly caused a loss of Tk64.04cr to the state exchequer by purchasing radar for the Bangladesh Air Force from the US instead of France when he was in power.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
