Purbachal plot scam: Shawkat Aziz Russell sent to jail after bail denied

Shawkat Aziz Russell, son of late Partex Group founder MA Hashem, was sent to jail on Sunday after a Dhaka court rejected his bail plea in a corruption case over illegal plot allocations in the RAJUK Purbachal New Town Project.

Russell surrendered before Dhaka Special Judge Court-9, presided over by Judge Md Abdus Salam, and sought bail pending appeal against his 14-year prison sentence. The court rejected the plea after a hearing and ordered his detention.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Khandaker Shamim Hossain confirmed the development, saying Russell had also sought Class-I division facilities in prison.

On October 13, the same court sentenced eight people, including Russell, to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment each for securing two 10-katha plots in Purbachal through abuse of power and influence.

The ACC filed the case on March 8, 2017, alleging that the accused had illegally secured the plots in the names of Russell and his brother Ashfaq Aziz Rubel, causing financial losses to the state.

Other convicts include former RAJUK chairman Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury and former members SD Faiz, AKM Wahedul Islam, SM Zafar Ullah, HM Zahurul Haque and Md Rezaul Karim Tarafdar, along with Ashfaq Aziz Rubel.

The court sentenced the accused to seven years in prison under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and another seven years under Section 409 of the Penal Code. Each was also fined 20 lakh taka, with an additional year in prison in default of payment. The sentences will run concurrently, and time already spent in custody will be deducted.