The High Court on Sunday accepted for hearing the appeal of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenging suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mizanur Rahman’s acquittal of the money laundering charges.

A bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order and summoned the documents of the case.

The two appeals will be heard together with Mizan’s appeal against the sentence in bribery case.

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

Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the ACC while Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik and Assistant Attorney General Anna Khanam Kali represented the state.

Khurshid  said the lower court had acquitted former DIG Mizan of money laundering charges. “Later, we appealed to the High Court seeking punishment in that charge.”

“ACC director Khandaker Enamul Basir was sentenced to five years in prison and fined Tk 80 lakh under the money laundering act. However, Mizanur Rahman was acquitted under this section,” he added.

On April 6, the HC accepted for hearing the appeal of former DIG Mizan’s seeking acquittal in a bribery case.

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

Basir was sentenced to three years jail term for bribery and five-year 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 He was withdrawn on January 9, 2019 following the allegation of threatening a female news presenter of a private television channel.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 abducted the 25-year-old woman 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.

Also read:Suspended DIG Mizan, ACC director Enamul Basir indicted

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.