Rajshahi Advocates’ Bar Association has taken punitive action against 16 pro-BNP lawyers for alleged embezzlement of its benevolent fund of Tk 1.28 crore in last ten years.

The decision came in the association’s general meeting held at its office Monday afternoon, our Rajshahi correspondent reports quoting the organisation’s general secretary Ekramul Haque.

WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST THEM?

According to the decisions, the membership of three of the lawyers -- former general secretary Jamshed Ali, Mainul Ahsan and Aftabur Rahman – were suspended for three years.

Six of them – Shamsul Haque, Munshi Abul Kalam Azad, Abdur Razzak Sarker, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, Mahbubur Rahman and Adib Imam – were suspended for six months.

Meanwhile, all sixteen including former bar association presidents Abul Kashem and Mozammel Haque, former benevolent fund chairman Ershad Ali, former joint secretary Parvez Tawfiq Zahedi and lawyers Habibur Rahman, Sanwar Kabir, and Jane Alam cannot enjoy benefits of the funds until the embezzled money was returned.

Abul Kashem, Mozammel Haque, Ershad Ali, Parvez Tawfiq Zahedi, Habibur Rahman, Sanwar Kabir, and Jane Alam, however, could perform as lawyers.

WHAT ARE THE ALLEGATIONS?

A recent scrutiny found that the 16 lawyers involved in embezzling Tk 1,28,03,681 from the benevolent funds between 2010 and 2016.

The actions were taken against the lawyers as their explanations were not acceptable, Ekramul said.

He said 40 per cent of the association’s earnings from sales of different court items are added to benevolent fund and the money is deposited to different banks. The scrutiny found, the interests of the deposited money and in some cases, the main funds were embezzled.

HOW DID EX-GENERAL SECRETARY DEFEND HIMSELF?

Contacted, former general secretary Jamshed Ali said the punitive actions were ‘unjustified and politically motivated’.

“It is a dangerous political action to stop us taking part in the association elections,” he said adding that the scrutiny was not accurate.

“They showed the fund embezzled, although it was deducted by the banks on VAT,” he said.