Ex-BNP chief whip Farooque acquitted in 24-year-old case

A Dhaka court today acquitted former BNP Chief Whip Md Zainul Abdin Farooque in a 24-year-old case over his alleged failure to submit a wealth statement within the stipulated time.

Judge SM Ziaur Rahman of the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge's Court handed down the acquittal order after finding no sufficient grounds in the case.

In the judgment, the judge said the prosecution has completely failed to prove the charges brought against the BNP leader and he was acquitted from the charges. Moreover, the ACC didn't issue the notice asking the accused in a proper way.

Earlier, the prosecution and the defence completed their arguments and the judge recorded statements of three prosecution witnesses, including the complainant of the case.

On June 26, 1999, the Bureau of Anti-Corruption (now defunct) asked Farroque to submit his wealth statement within 45 days from the day of receipt of the notice.

Farooque received the notice on July 9 of the same year but did not comply within the given timeframe.

On January 19, 2000, the BAC filed a case against Farooque with Mirpur Model Police Station. While he initially secured bail from Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in 2001, he failed to appear in court later, leading to an arrest warrant issued on January 11, 2002.

Following the arrest warrant, Farroque appeared before the court, seeking bail in the case.

On June 1, 2010, the HC stayed the trial proceedings of the case and also issued a rule questioning the filing and initiation of the case.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) later on moved a petition before the HC seeking withdrawal of the stay order.

After the hearing, the High Court on January 2 of 2023 cleared the way for the lower court concerned to resume the trial of the corruption case against Farooque.

The HC also ordered the lower court to finish the trial in six months.