Rafiur Rabbi sent to jail

A Narayanganj court on March 29, 2016, sent Rafiur Rabbi, father of slain teen Toki, to jail in connection with a cheque bounce case filed by a relative of Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman. Photo taken from Prothom Alo

A Narayanganj court yesterday sent Rafiur Rabbi, father of slain teen Taqi, to jail in connection with a cheque bounce case filed by a businessman.

Judge Miaji Shahidul Alam Chowdhury passed the order after Rabbi, an organiser of Narayanganj Gonojagoron Mancha, surrendered before the court, Additional Public Prosecutor Abdur Rahim told reporters yesterday.

Businessman Jalal Uddin Ahmed, maternal uncle-in-law of ruling Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, filed the case claiming that two cheques worth Tk 70 lakh given by Rabbi bounced in 2012.

Rabbi's lawyer Mahbubur Rahman Masum claimed the case was filed against his client in collaboration with a lawyer to whom the cheques were sent.

He alleged that Shamim Osman had threatened Rabbi several times with imprisonment in public. He added that they would appeal against the order to the higher court.

Abdur Rahim said Rabbi was penalised before for cheque forgery, but he had appealed to the High Court against the conviction. As the HC upheld the lower court verdict, he had to surrender before the court yesterday.

On March 8, 2013, the body of 17-year-old Tanvir Mohammad Taqi was found on the bank of the Shitalakkhya river two days after he had gone missing.