A Noakhali court on Tuesday sentenced a Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) official to eight years imprisonment in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for acquiring wealth beyond his known sources of income.

Judge of the Noakhali Special Judge Court Md Shawkat Ali handed down the punishment.

The convict is Executive Engineer of Pabna LGED Saif Ullah Tipu, an engineer of LGED.

The court also fined him Tk 1,00,000, in default, to suffer six months more in jail.

The court also ordered to confiscate illegal assets worth Tk 3,848,586.

According to the prosecution, allegations were raised against Tipu for accumulating wealth beyond known source of income while he was serving as an deputy assistant engineer at LGED’s Feni Sadar office.

The ACC filed the case against him under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004.

According to the case statement, between November 29, 2000 and November 28, 2004, Tipu acquired assets that did not match his income from Baburhat Gas System Limited in Feni and other legitimate sources.

During the investigation, the ACC found assets worth Tk 38,48,586 in his name that were allegedly beyond his known sources of income.

The investigation also revealed that a significant amount of money was spent on constructing a house on 2.5 acres of land in a mouza under Sonagazi upazila. They also found discrepancies in the expenditure related to the construction of a market.

The ACC said the investigation found inconsistencies between Tipu’s declared income and the actual expenses incurred for acquiring various assets, including the house and market.

After completing the investigation, ACC’s then Assistant Director Md Matiur Rahman submitted the charge sheet before the court.

The court found the accused guilty after examining evidence and witness statements.

ACC lawyer Mohammad Zahir Uddin represented the state in the case.