BNP's Gayeshwar acquitted in ACC case filed over undisclosed wealth
Gayeshwar was present in court when the judgment was announced.
BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy has been acquitted in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), filed on charges of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
The verdict was delivered today (5 October) by Judge Md Kamrul Hasan Khan of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3.
Gayeshwar was present in court when the judgment was announced. The court acquitted him as the charges were not proven.
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Earlier, on 25 September, after hearing arguments from both sides, the court had set 5 October for the verdict. Lawyer Borhan Uddin, who represented Gayeshwar, confirmed the matter to the media.
The case was filed on 5 January 2009 by ACC Deputy Director SM Mofidul Islam. After the investigation, he submitted the charge sheet to the court on 5 July the same year.
On 4 February 2010, Judge Mozammel Hossain, then presiding over Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3, ordered the trial to begin by framing charges. During the trial, 29 out of 47 prosecution witnesses testified before the court.
According to the case statement, Gayeshwar owns a six-storey house in Rayerbazar, built at Tk40.8 lakh, and another house on his ancestral land in Keraniganj, built at a cost of Tk15.04 lakh.
However, a Public Works Department (PWD) assessment found that the construction costs of these two houses were Tk25,36,505 higher than declared, which the ACC alleged to be undisclosed and beyond known income.
The case also stated that electronic goods worth Tk58,600 were found at Gayeshwar's residence, which were not declared in his wealth statement and were allegedly beyond his known income.
Furthermore, it was alleged that in 2004–2005, during the tenure of the then ruling party, Gayeshwar used his political influence to unlawfully receive Tk2.61 crore from two contracting firms — Abdul Monem Ltd and Reza Construction Ltd.
The total amount of assets allegedly acquired through house construction, purchase of electronic goods, and illegal payments stood at Tk2.86 crore.
The ACC claimed these assets were illegally obtained and constituted wealth beyond known sources of income.
