AL lawmaker Habibur acquitted of graft charges

Awami League lawmaker from Dhaka-5 constituency Habibur Rahman Mollah has been acquitted in a corruption case filed for concealing information worth over Tk 2 crore in his wealth statement.

Judge Md Joynal Abedin of the Special Judge Court-10 of Dhaka passed the order in absence of the AL leader saying that the prosecution failed to prove the charges.

Habibur Rahman, lawmaker of Dhaka-5 constituency (Demra-Jatrabari-Kadamtoli), remained absent during announcement of the verdict as he was physically ill.

The judge pronounced the judgment after cross-examination of all 21 prosecution witnesses including complainant of the case.

On May 29, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) served a notice to Habibur asking him to submit a wealth statement in seven days. After receipt of the notice, the AL leader submitted his wealth statement to the ACC on June 10 the same year.

But the ACC found that the AL lawmaker concealed wealth information in his statement. 

Later, on October 3, 2007, ACC Deputy Director Syed Ahmed filed the graft case with Ramna Police Station against AL MP Habibur.

According to the case statement, the accused hid information about his movable and immovable properties worth Tk 1.81 crore in Dhaka city's Shyampur area.

He also did not mention about his Mitsubishi V-6 jeep, which he purchased at Tk 9.20 lakh, and Tk 9.20 lakh deposited with Habib Agro Products Ltd.

On April 20, 2008, the ACC pressed charges against him and the court framed charges against him on May 14 the same year.