No witnesses appear in court

No witnesses appeared in court on Sunday to testify in the corruption case against former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed over allegations of acquiring undisclosed assets worth more than Tk 11 crore.

The court deferred the hearing until October 18, said Mir Ahmed Ali Salam, a prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The witness testimony was scheduled to take place before Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5. Witnesses also failed to appear on August 17 and September 10. Of the 28 witnesses listed in the case, 15 have testified so far.

ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam filed the case on December 15, 2024, alleging that Benazir had acquired assets worth Tk 11.04 crore beyond his known sources of income. After completing the investigation, Hafizul submitted a charge sheet to the court on November 30 last year, accusing Benazir.

According to the charge sheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk 6.45 crore and movable assets worth Tk 5.74 crore in his wealth statement. However, the investigation identified immovable assets worth Tk 7.52 crore and movable assets worth Tk 8.15 crore, bringing the total value of the assets to approximately Tk 15.68 crore. The ACC calculated his legitimate income at Tk 6.59 crore and his net savings after expenses at Tk 4.63 crore. It alleged that he acquired assets worth Tk 11.04 crore beyond his known sources of income.

The charge sheet further alleges that he concealed the illegal sources, nature and ownership of the funds by investing, transferring and converting them through bank accounts, business entities and joint-stock companies.