Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court Thursday recorded the evidence of former military dictator HM Ershad in the case filed in connection with radar purchase in 1992.
Ershad who is the Special Envoy to the Prime Minister and Jatiya Party Chief denied his involvement in the scam. He came up with the claim when Judge Abdur Rashid of Dhaka’s Divisional Special Judge Court asked him
whether he is guilty or not in the graft case he is facing. The judge asked Ershad exercising Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Other accused of the case followed HM Ershad.
They are former Air Force chiefs Air Vice-Marshal (retired) Sultan Ahmed and Air Vice-Marshal (retired) Mamtaj Uddin Ahmed.
After hearing the accused, the court fixed May 29 for arguments, on behalf of the prosecution and the defence.
Ali Haider, an official of the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau, had filed the case with the Cantonment Police Station of the capital against Ershad and four others on April 4, 1992.
In the case, the complainant stated that Ershad misusing his official position and in collusion with other accused purchased radars from the US instead of France despite higher prices and thereby caused a loss of Tk 640.4 million to the national exchequer and the money was misappropriated by them.
Abdus Sattar Sarker, a former official of the then Bureau of Anti-Corruption submitted the charge sheet against five accused including Ershad on October 27, 1994 and the court framed charges against HM Ershad and three others on August 12, 1995.
Another accused of the case AKM Musa of United Traders is on the run, while charges were later dropped against Shahzad Ali, former director of United Traders.
