Dhaka, Jan 11 (bdnews24.com) — Former prime minister Kazi Zafar Ahmed has been acquitted of two graft cases.
Dhaka's special judicial magistrate Mohammad Abdul Majid gave the orders on Tuesday noon.
Zafar attended the court on a wheel chair along with his doctor.
He was the prime minister during the regime of military dictator H M Ershad (March 1989-December 1990).
One of the cases was field for depositing money of the textbook board as investment in the BCI Bank. The now-defunct Anti-corruption Bureau filed the case on Nov 3, 1994 with Motijheel Police Station.
The then government withdrew the case on Mar 25, 2003.
Another graft case was filed for accumulating wealth illegally on Feb 11, 1995 with Gulshan Police Station. Charge sheet in the case was submitted on Dec 25, 1999.
Kazi Zafar got bail in both cases.
State counsel Shahin Ahmed told bdnews24.com that the case was stayed for long by the High Court. There were 59 dates set for the framing of charges in the case.
Lawyer Sultan Mallick appealed for the exemptions on behalf of the former prime minister on Tuesday.
The petition said a government approval was required before filing of a case by the Anti-corruption Bureau under the previous law, which the plaintiff did not have. So the charges were framed against the defendant illegally.
Court exempted Kazi Zafar, stating, ''Since it was not approved by the government, so the charge is not logical.''
Zafar told bdnews24.com that graft case regarding the deposit of around Tk 10 billion of textbook board in BCI bank was illegal. "Government found me clean and freed me in 2003,'' he added.
Replying to a bdnews query, he said another case, for smuggling sugar, filed by the then government has also been quashed.
He asked the correspondent not to publish any report regarding that case.
bdnews24.com/pb/rm/rrd/pks/am/2045h.
