Court orders freeze on ex-IGP Benazir’s properties, bank accounts over corruption charges

The court order follows an ACC plea after allegations of corruption surfaced against the former police chief

Ex-IGP Benazir Ahmed

A Dhaka court has ordered the authorities to attach properties of Benazir Ahmed, and freeze bank accounts of the former inspector general of police over corruption allegations.

Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Ash Shams Jaglul Hossain passed the order to attach ownership documents of 83 properties of Benazir in Gopalganj on Thursday.

Anti-Corruption Commission counsel Khurshid Alam Khan said the court order followed an ACC plea as part of its examination of Benazir’s assets.

The ACC formed a committee a month ago to look into the allegations of possession of assets beyond means against the former police chief that surfaced in the media.

The daily Kaler Kantho, owned by Bashundhara Group, reported that Benazir's family had built an eco-resort on around 354 hectares of land in Gopalganj with dirty money.

It also alleged that the former IGP owns multiple flats and houses in Dhaka and Purbachal.

The newspaper accused his family of encroaching on forest land to construct a resort in Gazipur.

Benazir did his master’s in English from Dhaka University. He also has a PhD in business administration from the university’s Faculty of Business Studies.

He joined the police force in 1988 and retired as IGP in September 2022. He had also worked as the director general of the Rapid Action Battalion. He had worked in the UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo as well.

In a video message on Facebook, Benazir refuted the allegations reported by the national daily and a TV station.