Court orders appointment of magistrate to unlock Benazir’s flats

A court has directed the deputy commissioner of Dhaka to appoint an executive magistrate to enter former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed’s four flats in Gulshan.

Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge Mohammad Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain passed the order today, allowing a plea from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

ACC’s public prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir confirmed Prothom Alo about the court order.

He said ACC director Monjur Murshed in a plea to the court said executive magistrates should be appointed to unlock the apartments for its officials to enter and make an inventory of the furniture and other materials inside.

The ACC also applied that the Public Works Department (PWD) should be given the charge to rent out the flats.

After the hearing, the court asked Dhaka's DC to appoint an executive magistrate. PP Mahmud Hossain added that the court ordered the deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Gulshan division that the executive magistrate should be accompanied by the police while a PWD engineer should fix the rent after measuring the size of the flats.

Earlier, the court gave the asset management unit of ACC the charge of management of the four flats of Benazir. But the ACC officials could not enter the flats as no family members were found there. The ACC made the plea to the court in the wake of the situation.

On Thursday, the court appointed administrators to take charge of the eight flats as well as 25 acres and 27 kathas of land registered in the names of former IGP Benazir Ahmed, his wife and daughters.

Earlier the court in two phases ordered attachment of 621 bighas of land in Gopalganj and Madaripur, shares of 19 companies and four flats in Gulshan owned by Benazir and his family. The court also ordered saving certificates worth Tk 3 million, 33 bank accounts and three BO (Benificiary Owners) accounts of Benazir to be frozen.

Benazir Ahmed was IGP between 15 April in 2020 and 30 September in 2022. Before holding the top post of police, Benazir was director general of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and commissioner of DMP.

The ACC launched an investigation into the wealth of Benazir and his family after allegations appeared that he amassed huge amounts of ill-gotten money through corruption and irregularities.