Government to cancel politically motivated cases filed against ruling BNP leaders

Dhaka, 27 August (Asiantribune.com): The government for the first time has decided to cancel a case filed during the past caretaker government period against a top leader of main opposition BNP on the grounds they were filed for the purposes of political harassment.

The case was one of the 105 cases filed on the same grounds and is to be withdrawn, State Minister for Law Kamrul Islam said on Wednesday.

A total of 288 applications for cancelling cases were presented at the sixth meeting of the scrutiny committee for recommending quashing such cases, Islam, the committee's chairman, told reporters.

Of them, 246 were filed under the penal code, while the remaining 42 were pressed on by the Anticorruption Commission, he said.

Of the 105 cases to be cancelled, 89 were lodged under the penal code, 16 were ACC cases.

Of the total cases presented at the meeting, the committee rejected 52 applications, and the remaining 142 cases will be reviewed further at the committee's next meeting, Islam said.

Wednesday's meeting decided to withdraw one case filed against BNP leader Moudud Ahmed on charges of keeping foreign alcohol.

"We are considering the case as politically motivated and have recommended it to be quashed," Islam said.

The Awami League-led government, soon after coming to power in January, announced it would look into cases filed against politicians and others for "political motives only" under past administrations.

The government invited applications seeking cancellation of such cases from February, forming district level vetting committees countrywide and a central scrutiny committee under the home ministry.

The deadline for applications was extended three times up to July 12.

The scrutiny committee has so far recommended 455 cases to be quashed, and 14 to be partially withdrawn, since its first sitting.

Its first meeting, on June 10, recommended quashing 62 cases, including 12 against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

On June 21 it approved another 46 cases to be cancelled.

In its third meeting on July 1, the committee recommended quashing another 66 cases.

On July 15 it recommended 69 cases be cancelled. On Aug 5, in its fifth meeting, the committee recommended another 121 cases be quashed.

Most of the cases to be quashed were filed against leaders of the ruling Awami League and its associate organizations.

The scrutiny committee received a total of 4,433 applications from district level committees.

-Asian Tribune-