3 former BTTB officials sentenced to 44 years each over Tk1.66 crore embezzlement
According to the verdict, the three were convicted under five sections of the Penal Code and one provision of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
A Chattogram court has sentenced three former officials of the Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB) to a cumulative 44 years' imprisonment each and fined them Tk1 crore each in a corruption case involving the embezzlement of Tk1.66 crore from the state-run organisation nearly three decades ago.
Chattogram Divisional Special Judge Md Mizanur Rahman delivered the verdict today (22 June).
As the convicts remained absconding during the pronouncement of the judgment, the court issued warrants for their arrest and ordered that sentence warrants be executed against them.
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Public Prosecutor Advocate Rezaul Karim Rony told The Business Standard that the court handed down the exemplary punishment after finding the corruption charges proven beyond reasonable doubt through witness testimonies and documentary evidence.
The convicts are former high-grade assistant-cum-cashier Mohammad Hossain of the Divisional Engineer (Building Construction) Office at BTTB's Agrabad office in Chattogram, former divisional engineer Md Kamrul Alam and former divisional engineer Sadikur Rahman Khan.
According to the verdict, the three were convicted under five sections of the Penal Code and one provision of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
The court sentenced them to 10 years' imprisonment under Section 409, seven years under Section 420, 10 years under Section 467, five years under Sections 468 and 471, five years under Section 477A, and seven years under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Although the combined sentences total 44 years, the court ordered that all sentences run concurrently. As a result, the convicts will effectively serve the longest individual sentence of 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. Any period previously spent in custody in connection with the case will be deducted from the sentence.
In addition to imprisonment, the court imposed fines totalling Tk1 crore on each convict across the six charges. Failure to pay the fines will result in an additional three years and six months of rigorous imprisonment.
According to the case documents, between 1 January and 26 December 1994, the accused, acting in collusion, altered the amounts on 24 cheques and fraudulently withdrew and embezzled Tk1.66 crore in excess of the approved amounts from a bank.
A case was filed with Double Mooring Police Station in Chattogram on 31 October 1999 over the alleged forgery and embezzlement.
Following a lengthy investigation, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted a charge sheet against the three accused on 30 April 2013. The court framed charges on 8 June 2014, formally beginning the trial.
After years of hearings and examination of evidence, the court delivered its verdict today.
