According to the charge sheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk6 crore 45 lakh 37 thousand 365 and movable assets worth Tk5 crore 74 lakh 89 thousand 966 in his asset statement.
TBS Report
18 October, 2026, 04:20 pm
Last modified: 18 October, 2026, 04:24 pm
Seven more witnesses have testified in a corruption case against former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed over allegations of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income.
The witnesses gave their statements before Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 today (18 October). As Benazir remains absconding, the defence could not cross-examine them.
After recording their statements, the court fixed 28 October for the next hearing to record further witness testimony.
The witnesses are Nirupan Singha, additional chief engineer (mechanical) at Inter Cables Ltd; Mohammad Ferdous, deputy chief engineer at National Tubes Ltd in Gazipur; former Home Ministry Deputy Secretary Md Aminul Islam; GM Ishtiaq Aziz, a freedom fighter and administrator of the Muktijoddha Paribar Kalyan Samity; Mohammad Moniruzzaman, chief executive officer of Rankon Development; Abdullah Al Jahir, additional deputy inspector general at Police Headquarters and office secretary of the Bangladesh Police Officers Multipurpose Cooperative Society; and Mahbubur Rahman, sub-registrar at Dhaka's Sadar Record Room.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Mir Ahmed Ali Salam confirmed the development, saying that the court had recorded statements from seven witnesses and expressed hope that the testimony process would be completed soon.
Of the 28 witnesses listed in the case, 22 have now testified.
On 8 March, the court accepted the charge sheet and issued an arrest warrant against Benazir. On 3 May, the same court framed charges against him and ordered the trial to begin.
The ACC filed the case on 15 December 2024, with its Deputy Director Hafizul Islam as the complainant. Following an investigation, Hafizul submitted the charge sheet on 30 November last year, accusing Benazir of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income, concealing information about his assets, and money laundering.
According to the charge sheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk6 crore 45 lakh 37 thousand 365 and movable assets worth Tk5 crore 74 lakh 89 thousand 966 in his asset statement.
However, investigators found evidence of immovable assets worth Tk7 crore 52 lakh 68 thousand 987 and movable assets worth Tk8 crore 15 lakh 31 thousand 264 in his name, bringing the total to approximately Tk15.68 crore.
The investigation identified Tk6 crore 59 lakh 42 thousand 668 as income from legitimate sources. After deducting expenses, his net savings stood at Tk4 crore 63 lakh 56 thousand 675.
The charge sheet alleges that Benazir acquired assets worth Tk11 crore 4 lakh 43 thousand 576 beyond his known sources of income.
It further alleges that he concealed the illegal source, nature, and ownership of the money by investing, transferring, and converting it through various bank accounts, businesses, and joint-stock companies.