A court has sentenced NGO official Syed Hasanuzzaman Loton to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for embezzling government loan funds issued in the names of landless people in Fatikchhari, Chattogram. Chattogram Divisional Special Judge Md. Mijanur Rahman announced this verdict on Monday in two cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The convicted Hasanuzzaman Loton is the General Secretary of an NGO named Rehabilitation and Development Organization for Landless (RADON) in Iqbal Road, Mohammadpur, Dhaka.
ACC lawyer Advocate Muhammad Kabir Hossain said, “The court has sentenced the accused to a total of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in two cases under section 409 of the Penal Code. Embezzling government funds allocated for the landless and using them for personal gain is a serious crime. As the charges were proven by evidence, the court has duly awarded the punishment, which will set an example for preventing corruption in the future.”
According to the case documents, Loton was responsible for distributing loans to landless people in 10 model villages in Chattogram under a project of the Ministry of Land. RADON was allocated Tk12 lakh for this project. However, he embezzled Tk2.23 lakh from this amount.
On 18 May 2003, the then Assistant Inspector of the ACC, Chowdhury MN Alam, as the plaintiff, filed two cases against him at Fatikchhari Police Station. After the investigation, the ACC submitted the charge sheet to the court.
As the charges were proven, the court sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine equivalent to the embezzled amount of TKk9,170 in one case. In the other case, for the embezzlement allegation of Tk1.44 lakh, he was sentenced to another five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of the same amount.
The accused was not present in court during the announcement of the verdict. The court has issued an arrest warrant against him.
