A Dhaka Court has directed authorities concerned of the government to publish a gazette notification asking BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman to appear before it on February 6 in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Judge of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court, Md Adaduzzaman, passed the order on Thursday after hearing a report submitted by Cantonment Police Station on the execution of a property attachment issued against the couple.
ACC court inspector Aminul Islam said, “Court ordered to publish the gazette notification through BG Press. However, there was no mention of publication of the notification in any newspaper.”
Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman have to appear before the court on or before February 6, otherwise, the trial against them will continue in their absence, added the ACC official.
Earlier, on January 5, the same court ordered the officer-in-charge of Cantonment Police Station to confiscate moveable (bank accounts) and immovable (land-related) properties of Tarique and his wife Zubaida in the case.
The court also directed the OC to submit a progress report on the implementation of the order by January 19.
In the progress report on the order to confiscate the properties of Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman, the police said that they have not found any trace of the property of these two fugitives.
Lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder, one of the counsels of Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman, said, “There is some routine work when an accused is shown absconding in a case. The gazette publication order is a part of it.
However, this case is politically motivated. Courts are passing such orders influenced by the ruling government in order to create pressure on the opposition political parties.”
Tarique and Zubaida have been in London since 2008.
On September 26, 2007, the anti-graft body filed the case with Kafrul Police Station against Tarique, his wife Zubaida and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing assets worth Tk 48.2 million through illegal means and concealing the information of Tk 21.6 million in their wealth statements.
The investigation officer of the case pressed charges against the three with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, on March 31, 2009. However, the trial proceedings against Iqbal Mand Banu were rescinded.
Earlier, Tarique was sentenced to life in jail in the August 21 grenade attack cases. He was also sentenced to different terms in two other cases, including the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
