BNP leader Rafiqul Islam Mia arrested for hiding wealth info

Police have arrested BNP leader Rafiqul Islam Mia hours after a court sentenced him to three years in jail for hiding wealth information.

The member of the party’s policymaking body National Standing Committee was arrested from his home at Eskaton in Dhaka on Tuesday evening, police said.

“There was a warrant for his arrest in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission,” said Md Shajahan, an assistant deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch.

Earlier in the day, the Sixth Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka sentenced the former minister to three years in prison and fined Tk 50,000 in a case filed 14 years ago. The judge also issued an arrest warrant for him.

According to the case documents, the then ACC served notice on Rafiqul Islam to submit his wealth information on Apr 7, 2001.

ACC official Syed Liakat Hossain filed a case against Rafiqul with Uttara Police Station on Jan 15, 2004 when he failed to submit the wealth information by the deadline.

The official also submitted the charges to the court on Nov 30 that year. The court ordered the start of the trial on Nov 14, 2017.

The verdict and his arrest came at a time when the BNP is preparing for the parliamentary election slated for Dec 30.

Rafiqul has been seen with other top leaders interviewing possible election nominees at the office of party chief Khaleda Zia, who is also in jail for corruption.