Two ex-ministers among 25 charge-sheeted in RAJUK house-selling case

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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Thursday submitted charge-sheet against 25 individuals including two former ministers and three ex-secretaries and RAJUK officials in a case filed for selling 18 RAJUK houses in the city's posh areas at very low prices, reports UNB.
"Charge sheet was submitted today (Thursday) against former Housing and Public Works Minister Mirza Abbas and 11 high government officials for allegedly selling 18 government's abandoned houses at abnormally low price," ACC Secretary Mokhles-ur-Rahman said during the Commission's regular briefing in the afternoon.
"Along with them, some 13 beneficiaries (total 25) including former Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Harris Chowdhury were also charge-sheeted," he added.
Mokhles said they have been charge-sheeted in accordance with sections 409 and 109 of the Penal Code, section 5 (2) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 1947, and section 15 of the Emergency Powers Rules.
He said the selling of these houses at abnormally low prices have caused the government a loss of over Tk 1.27 billion (127 crore).
ACC Assistant Director Shahidul Alam on March 29 filed a first information report (FIR) with Motijheel Police Station against 12 individuals including detained ex-minister Mirza Abbas for incurring a loss of over Tk 1.27 billion to the national exchequer by selling 18 abandoned houses.
It was stated in the FIR that these individuals in connivance with each other sold or approved the selling of 18 abandoned houses in the capital's posh areas of Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi and New Eskaton through fake auctions without open ones. These houses were sold at prices much lower than the ruling market prices.
Although the FIR was filed against 12 accused, 25 names appeared in the charge sheet, as 14 beneficiaries including former Commerce Minister were included. The name of ex-Works Division executive engineer Syed Mahfuz Ahmed, one of the accused, has been dropped, as his wrongdoing was not proved during the investigation.
Those accused in the FIR were Mirza Abbas, former secretaries SM Jafrullah and Shahid Alam, ex-RAJUK executive engineer Riazul Monir, ex-Works Division executive engineer Syed Mahfuz Ahmed, ex-RAJUK superintending engineer Mohammad Ali, former RAJUK finance director Humayun Khan, former RAJUK estate director and managing director of Sonargaon Hotel Golam Nabi, former joint secretary of Information Ministry Mir Mosharraf Hossain, ex-RAJUK chief engineer Emdadul Islam, ex-project director of RAJUK's Purbachal Town Development Project Abdus Sadek and ex-Works Division superintending engineer Ziauddin Ahmed.
The 14 individuals who were included in the charge sheets along with 11 others are former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, ex-premier Khaleda Zia's political secretary Harris Chowdhury, ex-MP Kazi Anwar Hossain, ex-secretary Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury, Cocola Foods Managing Director Shukkur Miah, chairman of a housing developer SM Anwar Hossain, Niu ze Mendes, Nurus Sofa, Shafiqur Rahman Kiron, Chittagong Awami League leader Afsar Uddin's wife Hasna Ahmed, Ambia Group Managing Director Abul Kasem, ex-secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Ali Haider Chowdhury, Mehedi Hasan of Orion Group and Basundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam.