Khulna: A court in Khulna has sentenced two individuals to different terms of imprisonment in two separate graft cases. Judge Md Ashraful Islam of the Divisional Special Judge’s Court delivered the verdicts today. One of the convicts remains absconding, court sources said.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the court sentenced Kalyan Adhikari, a field assistant of the Ekti Bari Ekti Khamar Project, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. The court also fined him Taka 6,82,617, with an additional term if he defaults on the payment. Adhikari, who was appointed in 2013 in Bagerhat Sadar Upazila, was responsible for collecting savings and loan repayments from members of 13 village associations. He went missing on October 15, 2017, and was later found to have embezzled the collected funds. A case in this connection was filed on May 21, 2018, and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted a charge sheet in 2019.
In another case, the court sentenced Md Omar Faruk, a demonstrator in the chemistry department of Banargati City Girls College, to six years’ rigorous imprisonment on charges of forgery and fraud. The court also fined him Taka 13,22,000. The court found that Faruk used a forged BSc (pass) mark sheet to secure and retain his job from 1998 to 2017, during which time he drew salaries and benefits amounting to over Taka 13.20 lakh.