Dhaka, June 10 (bdnews24.com)—A Dhaka court sentenced former communication minister Anwar Hossain Manju to seven years rigorous imprisonment for extortion on Tuesday.
Judge Khandakar Kamaluzzaman of Special Judge's Court-9 also fined him Tk 75 lakh or another year in jail on failure to pay.
The court sentenced Manju's wife Tasmima Hossain to two years in prison, and fined her Tk 5 lakh or another six months behind bars, on charges of abetting her husband.
Cousin of the former minister, Mahmud Hossain, was also convicted in the case for abetting Manju.
All three are currently fugitive; their sentences will be effective from the date of their arrest or surrender.
The Anticorruption Commission filed the case on July 25, 2007, with Shahbagh police, accusing Manju of taking Tk 75 lakh in bribes to award an illegal road construction contract.
The case details said Manju, during his term as communications minister, refused to legally award the deal to the lowest bidder.
The bribe money was allegedly received via the bank accounts of the minister's wife, his daughter Seema Hossain and Manju's cousin Mahmud.
Seema's name was later dropped from the charge sheet in the case.
Manju has already received sentences of seven years, in another extortion case, and 5 years in a case under the narcotics act.
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