Govt recommends withdrawal of 46 more cases against ruling AL leaders

The government on Sunday recommended withdrawal of 46 cases filed against leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League during the BNP-led alliance government and the immediate past military-backed interim administration.
The national review committee on withdrawal of politically motivated cases at its second meeting discussed some 58 cases—35 under the Bangladesh Penal Code and 23 by the Anti-Corruption Commission— and rejected eight cases, saying these could not be withdrawn under Section 494 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Earlier on June 10, the committee had recommended withdrawal of 62 cases, including 12 against prime minister Sheikh Hasina, out of some 113 cases reviewed at its first meeting on the day.
But the government has not recommended withdrawal of any cases filed against the opposition leaders and activities, including leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia, so far.
‘We have reviewed 58 cases today of which 46 have been recommended for withdrawal. All these cases were filed against leaders and activists of Awami League during the tenures of the BNP-led alliance government and the immediate past caretaker government,’ state minister for law Quamrul Islam, also the head of the inter-ministry committee, told reporters after the meeting held at the home affairs ministry.
Asked why no such cases against any leaders of the opposition in the parliament were recommended for withdrawal, he said the district committees led by deputy commissioners have not yet forwarded any cases against the BNP leaders for withdrawal.
‘If we get any proposal from the district committees for withdrawal of such cases, we will certainly consider it,’ Quamrul Islam said, admitting the fact that cases might have been framed against BNP leaders for harassing them during the two-year tenure of the caretaker government.
He claimed that the committee was meticulously examining the cases so that any criminal cannot get released of charges in the process.
Sunday’s meeting recommended withdrawal of 10 cases against state minister for LGRD and cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok alone.
The committee also recommended withdrawal of cases against AL leaders Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Matia Chowdhury, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Kazi Zafrullah, Obaidul Quader, engineer Mosharraf Hossian, Mohammad Nasim, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Abu Sayeed, ABM Mohiuddin Chowhdury, Shawkat Ali, Hazi Selim, Syeed Khokon, Juba League leader Mirza Azam, Juba Mahila League leader Sabina Akhter Tuhin and Chhatra League president Mahmud Hasan Ripon along with their co-accused.
The head of the review committee said the ACC was used during the caretaker regime to harass the politicians and some quarters.
Asked whether the government would initiate any legal move against the conspirators, the state minister said those who were involved in conspiring to harass politicians would be brought to book in phases.
He blamed a section of journalists for giving importance to those who masterminded the conspiracy against the politicians during the army-backed regime.
Alluding to some cases against the BNP leaders without naming them, he said the government on its own would not ask the district committees for sending the cases against those who siphoned off crores of taka abroad during their tenure in government (2001-06).
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her two sons, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman, filed applications on April 30 seeking withdrawal of some 20 cases filed against them during the interim government’s rule.
Four graft cases against Khaleda, 11 against her eldest son Tarique and five others against her youngest son Arafat had been filed during the two-year rule of the interim government which detained nearly 200 politicians, including Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda.
The government on February 17 set up the inter-ministry committee to review the ‘politically motivated’ cases, especially those filed against politicians, during the regimes of the BNP-led alliance government and the interim administration.
The committee has so far received 1,500 cases recommended for withdrawal by the district committees from across the country. It would require another two months to review all the cases, the state minister mentioned.
The BNP-led government earlier set up a similar committee to review the politically-motivated cases and withdrew some 5,888 cases filed during the 1996-2001 Awami League government against about 17,000 people, mostly political leaders and activists.

Courtesy of NewAgebd