Dhaka: A Noakhali court has sentenced a Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) official, Saif Ullah Tipu, to eight years in prison in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for acquiring wealth beyond his known sources of income. The decision was made by Judge Md Shawkat Ali of the Noakhali Special Judge Court.

According to United News of Bangladesh, the convict, who is the Executive Engineer of Pabna LGED, was also fined Tk 1,00,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months of imprisonment. The court further ordered the confiscation of illegal assets valued at Tk 3,848,586.

The prosecution revealed that allegations against Tipu emerged for amassing wealth disproportionate to his known income while he was a deputy assistant engineer at LGED’s Feni Sadar office. The ACC filed the case against him under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004.

The case statement indicated that between November 29, 2000, and November 28, 2004, Tipu acquired assets that could not be justified by his earnings from Baburhat Gas System Limited in Feni and other legitimate avenues. The ACC’s investigation uncovered assets worth Tk 38,48,586 in his name that exceeded his known income sources.

Further investigation by the ACC revealed substantial sums were spent on building a house on 2.5 acres of land in a mouza under Sonagazi upazila, along with discrepancies in the expenditure for constructing a market. The ACC identified inconsistencies between Tipu’s declared income and actual expenses for acquiring various assets, including the house and market.

After the investigation, ACC’s then Assistant Director Md Matiur Rahman submitted the charge sheet to the court. The court found the accused guilty based on evidence and witness testimony. ACC lawyer Mohammad Zahir Uddin represented the state in this case.