A court in Dhaka has sentenced BNP leader and former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and three others to 10 years in prison in a graft case.

Besides their prison terms, Khoka was slapped with a fine of Tk 2 million while the rest of the three were fined Tk 1 million each.

The court of Dhaka Divisional Special Judge Mizanur Rahman Khan, gave the verdict on Wednesday (Nov 28).

The remaining convicts are- DCC Unique Complex shop owner’s association president Abdul Baten, its general secretary Mahmud Hasan Azad and Goodluck Car Parking Manager HM Tareque Atik.

Khoka has been on the run since the beginning of the case but the rest of the three who were out on bail were also not present during the hearing.

“The three of them were out on bail. One of them is ill and I could not inform the other two of the hearing date,” said the defence counsel.

“We requested the court to postpone the hearing due to this but were declined. The accused have not been given a fair trial,” he added.

In a case filed by graft watchdog Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Khoka and the three others have been accused of causing the DCC a loss of over Tk 3 million through misuse of power.

According to the case dossiers, in 2003, the convicts called tenders for the lease of a basement car parking in the Banani Supermarket cum housing complex.

A Mizanur Rahman received the tender with a bid of Tk 110,000 and got the tender but the then mayor Khoka and the three others stayed the proceedings causing the staggering loss.

In February of 2012, ACC Deputy Director Mahbubul Alam filed a case with Shahbag police in the matter and in November of the same year submitted a charge sheet, accusing them.

In 2015, Khoka and the three others were indicted by Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah after which the case was shifted to the special judge court.