The court holding trial of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Mig-29 scam case Monday witnessed a row over the prosecution's disclosure of a defence-secret report, report UNB and bdnews24.com.
While proposing charge framing in the case, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor stated in the court that the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) had raised objection to the purchase of Mig-29 aircraft, as it was unnecessary and done by misusing state funds.
The prosecutor claimed that there were sufficient grounds for framing charges against the accused. He said, "It's a clear case of corruption committed through resorting to malafide practice and abuse of power in a bid to derive personal gains."
The prosecutor submitted that the accused in collusion with one another entered into a shady deal on the defence purchase that incurred a huge amount of loss to the public exchequer.
As the prosecution divulged the DGFI secret report on the government purchase of the Russian fighter jets, the principal accused, Sheikh Hasina, drew attention of the court, and wondered how a state secret (defence intelligence report) could be made public for judicial scrutiny.
Former army chief Gen (retd) Mustafizur Rahman, a co-accused in the case, standing in the dock asked the prosecutor to tell who the boss of the DGFI was at that time.
Echoing the retired general's point, Hasina said the DGFI worked under her, as she was the head of the government at the time and held the charge of the Ministry of Defence.
"Why and how the state secrecy is being made public for judicial scrutiny?" Hasina, the Awami League chief, questioned.
Judge Golam Mortuza Majumdar asked the prosecutor to explain who gave the order to investigate the matter and when. "Was it a 'suo moto' move?" the judge asked. The prosecutor had no answer.
During the debate on the disclosure of the state secrets, Hasina said it is the responsibility of the government to well equip the armed forces, including the air force, to protect the country's independence and sovereignty. "And, as the head of the government, I did it. Is it a criminal offence?" she asked the court.
Explaining the reasons behind the buying of the supersonic warplanes she said Bangladesh's policy is basically self-defensive. But, when the nation will come under attack from any external force, the air force must be well equipped to face the aggression. And out of this conviction, she had bought the aircraft for the air force to fend off any external attack.
Defence counsel Barrister Shafique Ahmed told the court that there is no ingredient to frame charges against his client, Hasina. "This is a baseless and concocted case," he said.
Barrister Shafique said the quoted price of the eight Mig-29 aircraft was $289 million, but the Hasina government fixed it at $115 million through state-to-state negotiations, "saving a large amount of the taxpayers' money."
But, he said, the prosecution side did not mention any of these facts, and by doing so confused the court by furnishing only the "half-truth", which is contrary to justice.
Barrister Shafique also pointed out that the process of purchasing the Mig-29 aircraft was initiated during the BNP rule in 1991-96.
Earlier, the ACC prosecutor proposed to frame charges against Hasina and six others in the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge's Court, relocated to the highly secured parliament-building complex. ACC prosecutor Sharfuddin Khan Mukul made the proposal.
The hearing was adjourned until June 11. The court extended the duration of the bail of Gen (retd) Mustafiz by nine days, rejecting the defence plea for a regular bail.
The other accused - former air force chief Air Marshal (retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed, former defence secretary Syed Yusuf Hossain, Air Commodore (retd) Mirza Akhtar Maruf, former defence joint secretary Mohammad Hossain Serniabat, and businessman Noor Ali - were also present at the court.
According to the case filed with Tejgaon Police Station, the purchase of the Mig-29 aircraft caused a loss of Tk 7.00 billion to the public exchequer. Shortly after the BNP-led four-party alliance came to power, the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption filed the Mig-scam case in December 2001. The incumbent caretaker government revived the stalled case through legal battle, as a clean-up drive against corruption is now underway.
