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A Dhaka court is to deliver its verdict in a graft case against Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat over the illegal accumulation of wealth on Feb 25.
Dhaka Special Judge Zakaria Hossain set the date for the verdict on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
The court's High Bench Assistant Fakir Zahidul Islam said Monday’s hearing was set for the accused to present his side and the completion of arguments in the case.
Counsel Noor Alam presented arguments on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission. As Samrat is absconding and being tried in absentia, no defence attended the hearing to present its arguments.
The case dates back to Nov 12, 2019, when the then ACC deputy director, Md Jahangir Ala,m prosecuted Samrat, accusing him of amassing Tk 29.48 million in illegal assets.
The same official later investigated the case and submitted a chargesheet on Nov 26, 2020.
Samrat, once a prominent figure in the Dhaka South Jubo League, went into hiding after a Sep 18, 2019, raid by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) near the capital’s Motijheel Club revealed illegal casino operations.
He was arrested on Oct 7, 2019, along with associate Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla. That afternoon, RAB took Samrat to his Kakrail office at Bhuiyan Trade Centre for a raid.
After nearly five hours, the RAB said it recovered a foreign pistol with bullets, 1,160 yaba pills, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two kangaroo hides, and an electric torture device.
The kangaroo skins led to Samrat being summarily sentenced to six months in jail by a mobile court under the Wildlife (Conservation) Act. Two separate cases under the Narcotics Control Act and the Arms Act were also filed at Ramna Police Station.
After being held in jail for 31 months, Samrat was granted bail in all four cases between Apr 10 and May 11, 2022, and released.
On Jul 17 last year, after the political changeover, the court indicted Samrat in the case over illegal acquisition of wealth and ordered the case to trial. His bail was scrapped, and an arrest warrantwas issued against him.
The testimony of all 21 witnesses included in the charge sheet concluded on Feb 2.
On Oct 28, Samrat had been sentenced to life in prison in the arms case.