A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and seven others in a Tk 10 crore extortion case.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shannullah accepted the police's final report and cleared the accused of all charges after a hearing on Wednesday.
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The acquitted individuals are Tarique's friend Giasuddin Al Mamun, Obaidullah Khandakar, Kamruzzaman, Engineer Mahbubul Alam, Engineer AKM Shoaeb Bashuri (alias Hablul), Azizul Karim Tariq and Monijur Rahman (alias Manik).
On November 5, investigation officer of the case Inspector Md Sazzad Hossain of the Detective Branch of Police’s Dhaka Kotwali team submitted the final report saying that no evidence was found against them.
The hearing on Wednesday revealed the original complaint was filed under undue pressure.
Plaintiff Khairul Bashar initially petitioned for a correction in the extortion case on June 30, 2007, but withdrew on May 7, 2009, via affidavit.
Khairul claimed influential circles pressured him to lodge the complaint and later confirmed he had no complaints against the accused and did not wish to pursue legal action. Further investigation supported Bashar's statements.
He confessed that the affidavit's claims were true: he had been coerced due to political and administrative pressure and admitted not knowing Giasuddin Al Mamun or the others.
The report also said no extortion had occurred and affirmed that the accused were well-established in their fields. It noted that the case aimed to damage Tarique Rahman’s political image.
The allegations claimed that in 1997, Abdul Monem Limited, the complainant’s company, won a Tk 26.59 crore contract for the Jamuna Bridge connecting road project, completed in two phases.
The charges alleged that in 2001, during bidding, Mamun and associates demanded a Tk 5 crore bribe, threatening to block the work order and disrupt the company's future in Bangladesh.
The complainant agreed to pay in installments, and Mamun allegedly collected Tk 5 crore between October 30, 2001, and June 15, 2002.
In the second project phase, Mamun and others allegedly collected an additional Tk 3.31 crore in multiple payments.
The case statement also said that on November 5, 2004, during the road widening project in Fenchuganj, Moulvibazar, Mamun and his associates threatened and collected Tk 2 crore from the company's managing director.
In total, Mamun and partners were accused of forcibly taking Tk 10 crore 31 lakh from Abdul Monem Limited through cash and cheque transactions. The case, involving Tarique and others, was filed on April 9, 2007, at Shahbagh Police Station.
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The court, accepting the final report that deemed the case politically motivated and baseless, acquitted all accused, ending the protracted legal saga.