Khandaker Enamul Basir, suspended director of Anti-Corruption Commission, and Mizanur Rahman, suspended Deputy Inspector General of Police, were sentenced to eight and three years in jail respectively in a Tk 40 lakh bribery case.
Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka handed down the sentence in presence of the convicts at a packed courtroom.
Basir was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for taking Tk 40 lakh bribe and laundering money while Mizan was given three years' imprisonment for giving the amount as bribe, the court said.
Basir was also fined Tk 80 lakh, in default of which he will have to serve six months more in jail.
In the judgment, the judge said the prosecution was able to prove the charges of taking and giving Tk 40 lakh as bribe against the accused undoubtedly and they were given the punishment for committing such offences.
Earlier the prosecution and the defence completed their arguments and the court recorded statements of 12 prosecution witnesses, including complainant of the case.
The court framed charges against the two accused on March 18 last year.
On January 15 the same year, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against them for their alleged involvement in taking and giving Tk 40 lakh bribe.
The anti-graft body filed the graft case against the two for a transaction of Tk 40 lakh as bribe on July 16 of 2019.
CASE HISTORY
A private television channel aired a report in which DIG Mizan alleged that Basir took a bribe of Tk 40 lakh from him for clearing him from a graft allegation.
Following the report, the ACC formed a three-member committee, led by ACC Secretary Dilwar Bakth to investigate the matter and asked it to submit a report by next day of the investigation.
Later, the ACC suspended Basir after analysing the probe report on June 12 the same year.
However, soon after the allegation brought against him, Basir has been denying it and saying that "DIG Mizan has provided a record to the television channel by copying my voice deliberately."
The ACC formed a three-member probe body headed by Fanafilya, a director of the ACC to find out the authenticity of exchanging the bribery allegation.
In May of 2019, the ACC launched an enquiry into the alleged accumulation of illegal wealth by Mizan, who came to spotlight after his marital scandal. He was later withdrawn as additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
The ACC had tasked Basir with the enquiry into Mizan's wealth.
Mizan was withdrawn on January 9, 2018, following allegations of threatening a female news presenter of a private television channel. He reportedly picked up a 25-year-old woman in July 2017 and forcibly married her.
On April 25 of 2019, the anti-graft watchdog had summoned Mizan and quizzed him for about seven and a half hours over the allegation.
Basir was arrested in the capital's Mirpur area on July 22 of 2019.
The High Court on July 1of 2019 handed Mizan over to police after he surrendered before it seeking bail in a case -- filed over acquiring over Tk 3 crore through illegal means.
