RCC mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu sent to jail

A Rajshahi metropolitan magistrate (MM) court yesterday sent former BNP lawmaker and Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu and two other local BNP leaders to jail after they surrendered before it following a High Court order over an extortion case.

 

Two other accused are – Rajshahi district BNP vice president Nazrul Huda and former city BNP general secretary Shafikul Haque Milon.

 

The court of first class metropolitan magistrate Jonendranath Sarkar also rejected their bail petitions at around 12pm in the extortion case filed by one Shamsul Islam Khan with Rajpara police station in the city.

 

The court directed Rajshahi Central Jail authority to arrange Minu's stay in jail in accordance with jail code when his lawyers appealed for his division.

 

Tight security measurers were taken in and around the court sensing Minu's surrender.

 

Listed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as one of the corrupt people, Minu had been avoiding arrest over bail from High Court since a crackdown on dishonest politicians was launched.

 

Over 50 lawyers led by Rajshahi Bar president Mojibor Rahman Talukhdar pleaded for the accused.

 

They told the court that Minu and his companions were national and local leaders and the together played roles in many development works of the country.

 

Court inspector Mahbubul Kuddus Siddiki defending the state told the court that the accused were found guilty in police investigation and police already pressed charges against them.

 

The magistrate rejected the bail petitions on ground that his court has no legal jurisdiction to hear the petitions as the charges of abetting extortionists is to be tried by a judge court.

 

Earlier on May 28, a high court bench asked Minu and two others to surrender before the court within three weeks. The HC rule also directed law enforcement agencies not to arrest or harass them.

 

A HC bench on April 29 granted Minu anticipatory bail for two months.

 

Shamsul Alam Khan, a governing body member of Evergreen Model College filed the case accusing total 11 persons with Rajpara PS on April 21.

 

Sub-Inspector Abdur Rahman Sarkar of Rajpara PS pressed charges against same on May 16.

 

Other accused in the case are -- BNP adherents Mainul, Islam, Ranju, Ashraf, Shamsul, Sentu and Abdullah Al Mamun and Babu.

 

According to charges, accused persons, directed by mayor Minu, waylaid Khan at Baharampur Bypass intersection and demanded Tk 4 lakh toll assaulting him on March 29 this year.

 

Earlier in 2006, Minu called Khan and the college principal Abu Yusuf Selim at his office and requested them to include his men – Nazrul and Milon in college's governing body.

 

Minu also threatened them with dire consequences, Khan alleged.

 

But on July 4, 2006, Nazrul, Milon and Sentu went to the college and demanded Tk 1 lakh toll for not including them. They forcibly took away bricks worth Tk 25,000 and school furniture worth Tk 13,000.

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