NGO official gets 10 years in jail for embezzling govt funds meant for landless people in Ctg

A Chattogram court has sentenced an NGO official to 10 years in prison for embezzling government funds allocated for distribution among landless families.

The Chattogram Divisional Special Judge's Court, presided over by Judge Md Mizanur Rahman, delivered the verdict yesterday (20 October) in two graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

ACC lawyer Rezaul Karim Rony confirmed the judgment.

The convict, Syed Hasanuzzaman Liton, was the secretary general of an NGO named Rehabilitation and Development Organisation for Landless (RADOL) and hails from Tangail district.

According to case documents, in 1996, RADOL was assigned by the Ministry of Land to distribute Tk12.5 lakh in loans among landless residents in 10 model villages across Chattogram district.

However, the NGO allegedly failed to disburse the full amount. Investigations later found that Tk2.23 lakh of the allocated fund had been misappropriated, leading to two separate cases.

On 18 May 2003, then–assistant inspector of the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption, Chowdhury M N Alam, filed the cases against Hasanuzzaman with Fatikchhari police station. After an investigation, the ACC submitted charge sheets to the court.

Following years of legal proceedings and witness testimonies, the court on Monday delivered its verdict.

In one case involving the embezzlement of Tk79,170, the court sentenced Hasanuzzaman to five years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 409 of the Penal Code. In the second case involving Tk1.44 lakh, he received another five-year prison term under the same section.

The court also ordered Hasanuzzaman to repay the embezzled amount as a fine.

The convict is currently absconding after securing bail during the trial. The court has issued an arrest warrant against him.