A court in Bogura has sent former minister Abdul Latif Siddique to jail on charges of corruption.
On Thursday (Jun 20), the a special judge’s court in the northern district turned down his bail plea in cas filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) which accuses him of abusing office in leasing out a state-owned land.
“Warrants were out for Latif Siddique and one Begum Jahanara Rashid," Public Prosecutor (PP) Abul Kalam Azad said.
According to the prosecution, Siddique had abused his power as the jute and textiles minister and sold 2.38 acres of land at Ranirnagar Bazar in Adamdighi upazila to one Jahanara in 2011 — flouting the rule of selling government land after floating tenders.
By selling the land at Tk 2.39 million instead of the original market price of at least Tk 6.46 million, Siddique made a criminal breach of trust and incurred a loss of over Tk 4 million to the state exchequer.
On Feb 18, the ACC filed the charge sheet against the two, at the district’s Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court.