A Chittagong court has exempted Housing and Public Works Minister Engr Mosharraf Hossain from a graft case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the tenure of the army-backed caretaker government in 2007.
The court of Chittagong Divisional Special Judge Mir Ruhul Amin passed the order on Thursday.
ACC lawyer Sanwar Ahmed Lavlu said the court ordered to press charges against another accused in the case, Fakhrul Anwar.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Mosharraf’s counsel Abdullah Al Belal claimed: “My client was made accused under Section 161. No concrete allegation was levelled against him in the charge sheet, which is why the court exempted him from the case.”
The national anti-graft watchdog lodged the case against Mosharraf and late Awami League lawmaker Rafiqul Anwar and his brother Fakhrul Anwar for giving permission to build a high-rise building in a parking lot in Chittagong city.
According to the case documents, the Chittagong Development Authority designated 1.44 bighas of land as parking space in the Agrabad commercial area.
It was alleged in the document that Mosharraf, misusing his power as minister during the 1996-2001 period, signed a deal at Tk4.61 crore with Fakhrul Anwar for allowing the latter to construct a three-star hotel in the parking lot.
The case was filed with Double Mooring police station on November 22, 2007, and the charge sheet was submitted to the court on July 30 the following year.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
