Bribery case: HC to hear ex-DIG Mizan’s appeal seeking acquittal

The High Court on Wednesday accepted for hearing the appeal of suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mizanur Rahman seeking acquittal in a bribery case.

The single bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order.

At the same time, the court fixed April 13 for hearing his bail plea.

Barrister Mahbub Shafiq appeared for Mizan in the court while Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state.

Earlier on Monday, Mizan appealed to the High Court seeking acquittal in the case.

On February 23, Dhaka Special Court-4 judge Sheikh Najmul Alam pronounced the judgment in this case.

The court sentenced ACC director Khandaker Enamul Basir to eight years imprisonment with Tk 80 lakh fine and Mizan to three years.

Basir was sentenced three years jail term for bribery and five years jail term under money laundering act but he will have to spend five years in prison as the two punishments will be served simultaneously, said the court.

DIG Mizan was an additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). He was withdrawn on January 9, 2019 following the allegation of threatening a female news presenter of a private television channel.

He had also reportedly married a woman forcibly and tortured her. Mizan allegedly picked the 25-year-old woman up in July, 2017 and then forcibly married her.

He had also implicated her in a false case whereby she was arrested and remained in jail for three weeks.

On June 24 in 2019, ACC director Monjur Morshed filed the case against DIG Mizan, his wife Sohelia Anar Ratna, nephew sub-inspector Mahmudul Hasan and younger brother Mahbubur Rahman.

According to the case statement, the ACC found that DIG Mizan concealed information of wealth worth Tk 3.7 crore in his wealth statement.

Then director of ACC Enamul Basir was made the investigation officer in the case.

During the investigation DIG Mizan accused Basir of claiming Tk 40 lakh as bribe for acquitting him from the charges.

Following the allegation, another ACC director Monjur Morshed was made the investigation officer in the case, withdrawing Basir.

A three-member probe body was formed led by ACC director Sheikh Mohammad Fanafillah to look into the allegations of bribery.

On July 16, 2019, Sheikh Mohammad Fanafillah filed the case over the bribery scandal against Mizan and Basir.

On April 16, 2020, a Dhaka court indicted the two and directed the official beginning of the trial in this case.