Court charges ex-Dhaka mayor Khoka, six others for corruption

Former Dhaka City mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and six others have been charged by a Dhaka court with illegally allotting plots to shop owners.

Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge Dr Akhteruzzaman framed the charges on Sunday and set Sept 21 for recording depositions in the case that the Anti-Corruption Commission started in 2014.

The six other accused persons are Motaleb Hossain, Faruq Hossain, Bacchu Mia, Kanungo Mohammad Ali, Sahabuddin Sabu and Mohsin Uddin Morol.

Among them, Sabu is on the run while senior BNP leader Khoka has been in the United States since May 2014.

Khoka, who served as mayor of undivided Dhaka City Corporation from 2002 to 2011, is currently being treated for cancer in New York, according to BNP leaders.

The court cancelled bails of Motaleb and Faruq as they did not appear before it on Sunday, said Mokarram Hossain, a clerk of the court.

Two other accused presented themselves before court and pleaded not guilty.

The seven accused persons illegally allotted plots to shop owners in front of the Dhaka Trade Centre owned by the city corporation for “personal benefits,” according to the case dossier.

The lands were rented out at a monthly rate of Tk 15 per square feet, it says.

ACC Deputy Director Sheikh Abdus Salam submitted charges against the seven in 2015.

The same year, a Dhaka court found BNP leader Khoka guilty of acquiring wealth through illegal means and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. The trial was held in absentia.

The court also ordered confiscation of his assets worth Tk 100.52 million.