Staff Correspondent
Convicted former BNP state minister Ziaul Haq Zia, who entered the country on February 13 dodging immigration officials at Zia International Airport (ZIA), was arrested in the capital early yesterday.
Sources said members of Rab-4 and intelligence agencies arrested him at his relative’s house at Mohammadpur Geneva Camp at about 4:00am and produced him before Special Judge’s Court of Yasmin Anwar who sent him to jail after a brief hearing in the afternoon.
Ziaul Haq, former state minister for LGRD and Cooperatives, had been accused in eight cases and sentenced to 31 years’ imprisonment in three cases. He went into hiding soon after the immediate past caretaker government assumed power.
Rab officials said they arrested Zia acting on a tip-off and later handed him over to Mohammadpur police.
He was first produced before the special judge’s court and then before the Speedy Trial Tribunal No-6 that also ordered to send him to jail.
During the hearing, Zia denied all allegations against him and said all the cases filed against him were false and baseless.
The former minister claimed that he neither amassed wealth illegally nor was involved in any misappropriation.
CASES AND CONVICTION
A special court sentenced Ziaul Haq to 13 years’ imprisonment in a case filed by the Anti-corruption Commission on charge of amassing wealth illegally.
A court sentenced him to 10 years in prison in a case filed by the Motijheel police on charges of forgery and another court awarded him eight years in jail in a tax evasion case filed by the National Board of Revenue.
Sources said the trial of a corruption case also filed by the ACC against him remains pending.
Besides, three extortion cases were filed against him in Laxmipur and another for misappropriating wheat meant for government relief.
The courts delivered the verdicts in his absence and three arrest warrants were issued against him.
Courtesy of www.thedailystar.net
