Charge framing against Babar deferred again

Charge framing against former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar in a tax evasion case has been deferred again, reports bdnews24.com. Judge Mohammad Rezaul Islam of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-5 deferred the schedule to November 27 on a plea submitted by the defence, in the presence of Babar. Case records reveal that the charge framing on the case has been deferred for the sixteenth time. Earlier on September 5, Judge Jasmine Anwar set the hearing date for October 27. Defence lawyer A B M Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan Mukul told the court that they had filed a petition at the High Court seeking annulment of the case and that the scheduled hearing for the case was Thursday. So, the hearing on charge framing should be stopped, he told the court. Earlier on February 14, Judge A N M Bashir Ullah of the Senior Special Judge's Court issued an arrest warrant against Babar hours after a case had been filed against him for dodging Tk 26.5 million in income tax for the 1999-2000 to 2008-09 fiscal years. Deputy Tax Commissioner Syed Zakir Hossain of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) filed the case against Babar. The NBR, in its case statement, mentioned that Babar, director of Master Electronics Industries, evaded about Tk 26.5 million in income tax on his income of over Tk 80 million from his firm during the fiscal years from 1999-2000 to 2008-2009. Babar repeatedly provided false information about his real income and expenditure, even though he was an influential person and a leading businessman, alleged the NBR statement. The former state minister was earlier arrested on charges of amassing huge wealth and money through illegal means during the last caretaker government. Later, he was sentenced to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.