A Dhaka court on Monday formally opened the trial of former lawmaker and former senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Football Federation, Salam Murshedy, alongwith 12 others, in a case over the alleged illegal acquisition of a 27-katha government plot in Gulshan.
Judge Md Abdus Salam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-9 framed charges against the accused after a hearing, rejecting their discharge pleas.
The court also fixed August 19 for the commencement of witness testimony.
Murshedy, who has been in jail since his arrest on October 1 last year, was produced before the court, while the other accused on bail appeared in person.
The co-accused include former RAJUK chairman Humayun Khadem, former RAJUK engineer M Azizul Haque, former estate deputy director Md Azharul Islam, former superintendent Md Habib Ullah, former Housing and Public Works Ministry assistant secretary Abdus Sobhan and two brothers from Cox's Bazar, Mir Mohammad Hasan and Mir Md Nurul Afsar.
According to the chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on December 31, the accused conspired to forge official records, secure transfer approval and mutation of a government-owned abandoned property at Holding No. 29, Road No. 104, Gulshan-2, despite its inclusion in the government's list of abandoned properties. Prosecutors alleged that the forged documents enabled the unlawful misappropriation of the land.
The ACC initially filed the case on February 6, 2024, against 11 people, excluding Murshedy. He was later included in the charge sheet alongside 12 others.
