The High Court on Monday issued a rule questioning why the three-year sentence of suspended deputy inspector general (DIG) Mizanur Rahman in a bribery case should not be extended.
The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ezarul Haque Akunnd issued the rule during a hearing on a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Meanwhile, Appellate Division Chamber Judge Justice M Enayetur Rahim upheld the bail granted by the High Court to the former DIG in the case during the hearing.
Senior advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC while advocate Mahbub Shafik appeared for the accused.
The Dhaka Special Judge’s Court sentenced Mizan to three years imprisonment in the bribery case as per the Penal Code but he did not get punishment as per Section 5 (2) of the ACC law. According to the law, he will get seven years in jail, says ACC.
“We have appealed for extending the jail term,” said Khurshid Alam.
Mizan was given three years in jail in the case on February 23 while suspended ACC director Khandaker Enamul Basir got eight years.
Later, Mizan and Basir moved the High Court against the order.
On Monday, the ACC filed an appeal against the High Court order granting two-month bail to Mizanur Rahman who was jailed for three years in a bribery case.
On April 13, Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman granted bail to Mizanur Rahman after hearing his bail petition.
According to the case documents, Mizan was withdrawn as additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on January 9, 2018, following allegations of threatening a female news presenter of a private television channel.
Earlier, he reportedly picked up a 25-year-old woman in July 2017 and forcibly married her.
In May 2019, the ACC launched an inquiry into charges of amassing illegal wealth by Mizan. The ACC had tasked its director Basir with the inquiry into Mizan’s wealth.
The corruption case dates back to June 24, 2019, when ACC director Manjur Morshed lodged a complaint against the DIG, his wife Sohelia Anar Ratna, nephew Sub-Inspector Mahmudul Hasan and younger brother Mahbubur Rahman.
According to the case statement, Mizan accumulated wealth worth Tk3.28 crore beyond his known sources of income. On the other hand, he had declared wealth worth Tk3.7 crore in his tax statement.
Then director of ACC Basir was made the investigating officer in the case.
Later, a private television channel aired a report in which DIG Mizan alleged that Basir had taken a bribe of Tk40 lakh from him on the promise of clearing him of the corruption charges.
After the report, the ACC formed a three-member committee, led by ACC Secretary Dilwar Bakth, to investigate the incident.
The commission suspended Basir on June 12 after analyzing the probe report.
However, Basir has been denying it and claimed that DIG Mizan had provided an audio record to the TV channel by copying his voice deliberately.
The ACC formed a three-member probe body to find out the authenticity of the bribery-related conversation.
Later, the ACC filed the case with its Integrated District Office in Dhaka against the two over a transaction of Tk40 lakh as a bribe on July 16, 2019.
The trial started by framing charges against the two accused in the case on March 18 last year.
On January 16 the same year, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against them for their alleged involvement in taking and giving Tk40 lakh as a bribe.
Basir was arrested in the capital’s Mirpur area on July 22, 2019, while the High Court on July 1 handed Mizan over to police after he surrendered before the court, seeking bail in a case filed over amassing over Tk3 crore in illegal wealth.
