Court orders ex-DIG Partha Gopal Banik to jail after surrender

A Dhaka court has turned down a bail appeal from former Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Partha Gopal Banik, who was suspended on bribery and money laundering charges, and ordered him to jail.

On Sunday, Partha surrendered to the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court No. 4 of Sheikh Nazmul Alam and pleaded for bail.

The judge sent him to jail following a hearing, said Mahmud Hossain Jahangir, a lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The case was shifted to the Special Judge’s Court 4 from the Special Judge’s Court 5 on Sept 7.

The ACC, an agency that filed the case, seized Tk 8 million in cash from his home in Dhanmondi in a raid following interrogation at their office on Jul 28, 2019, over the complaints of corruption and irregularities. He was then arrested.

Partha abused his power as a government employee and accumulated Tk 8 million illegally, ACC said in the charge sheet.

He committed a punishable offence by keeping a large amount of cash at home for money laundering, instead of depositing it into a bank account. 

The High Court approved the ACC appeal on Sept 2 and cancelled his bail ordering him to surrender by Sept 20.

The High Court ordered the settling of the case by Feb 28, 2022.