The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule questioning why the sentence of suspended Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director Khandaker Enamul Basir in a bribery case should not be extended. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Kazi Md Ezarul Haque Akunnd issued the rule during a hearing on a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission. Also read: Former ACC director Basir gets 8 yrs in jail in bribery case Senior advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission. On February 23, Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 Sheikh Nazmul Alam sentenced suspended DIG Mizanur Rahman and suspended ACC director Basir to three and eight years (three years for passing information and five years for bribery) in jail, respectively in the case. Later Mizan and Basir moved the High Court against the order. The ACC appealed to the High Court on Monday for extending Basir’s jail term. On April 13, HC granted two-month bail to Mizan against which ACC appealed to the Appellate Division. The corruption case dates back to June 24, 2019, when ACC director Manjur Morshed lodged a complaint against the disgraced DIG, his wife Sohelia Anar Ratna, nephew sub-inspector Mahmudul Hasan and younger brother Mahbubur Rahman. According to the case statement, Mizan accumulated wealth worth Tk 32.8 million beyond his known sources of income. On the other hand, he had declared wealth worth Tk 37 million in his tax statement. Then director of ACC, Basir, was made the investigating officer in the case. During the probe, Mizan had accused Basir of demanding Tk 4.0 million as bribe for setting the case, prompting the Commission to appoint director Monjur Morshed as the investigating officer in the case. Also read:Suspended DIG Mizan, ACC director Enamul Basir indicted At the same time, 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, Fanafillah lodged a complaint against both Mizan and Basir. And on April 16, 2020, a Dhaka court indicted the two and directed the official beginning of the trial in the case.

The High Court on Thursday turned down the bail petition of suspended ACC director Khandaker Enamul Basir in a case filed over the Tk 40 lakh bribery scandal. The virtual HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice SM Mozibur Rahman passed the order. Read: HC declares all sorts of gambling illegal Advocate Ruhul Kuddus Kajol stood for the petitioner while deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin and advocate Khurshid Alam represented the state and ACC respectively. On April 29, Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 rejected the bail petition of Enamul. On June 16, the suspended Anti-Corruption Commission(ACC) director filed a petition seeking bail in the case. Read: HC to resume regular operation from Wednesday On July 22, 2019, ACC arrested Enamul from his Darus Salam residence in the city for taking bribe from police’s Deputy Inspector General Mizanur Rahman. On July 16, 2019, ACC director  Sheikh Mohammad Fanafillah filed the case over the bribery scandal. A private TV channel reported that Mizan gave Tk 40 lakh to Basir to get clean chit in a corruption case. Enamul was suspended on June 10 for allegedly leaking information, a breach of his job discipline. Besides, Mizan was shown arrested in the case on July 21. 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.

As the war against corruption in Bangladesh has failed to achieve any success yet, the country witnessed some unusual graft cases that raised the eyebrows of all in 2019.