A Dhaka court on Tuesday recorded the testimonies of four more witnesses in a corruption case against former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed over allegations of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
The testimonies were taken by Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5.
As the accused remains absconding, the witnesses could not be cross-examined, court sources said.
Following the hearing, the court fixed 1 July for the next proceedings in the case.
ACC lawyer Mir Ahmed Ali Salam said eight out of the 28 prosecution witnesses listed in the case have so far testified before the court.
The witnesses who testified on Tuesday were Md Sohel Mia, chief assistant at the Narsingdi Tax Commissioner’s Office; Md Riazul Islam, sub-registrar of Sonargaon; Asef Aynan Bakhsh, sub-divisional engineer of the Public Works Department; and Sirajul Haque, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
On 8 March, the court took cognisance of the chargesheet and issued an arrest warrant against Benazir.
Later, on 3 May, it framed charges against the former police chief and ordered the trial to begin.
The case was filed on 15 December, 2024, by ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam, who also served as the investigating officer.
According to the prosecution, the ACC submitted its charge sheet on 30 November last year, accusing Benazir of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income, concealing information in his wealth statement, and laundering illicit funds.
The charge sheet states that Benazir declared fixed assets worth Tk6.45 crore and movable assets worth Tk5.74 crore in his asset statement.
However, investigators found evidence of fixed assets valued at Tk7.52 crore and movable assets worth Tk8.15 crore in his name.
The ACC claims to have found evidence of total assets amounting toTk15.68 crore, while Benazir’s legally earned income was estimated at Tk6.59 crore.
After accounting for expenditures, his net savings stood at Tk4.63 crore.
Investigators alleged that the former IGP accumulated assets worth Tk 11.04 crore that were inconsistent with his known sources of income.
The ACC further alleged that he concealed the source, nature and ownership of the funds and channelled the money through various bank accounts, business entities and joint-stock companies in an attempt to disguise its origin.
