Administrators placed in charge of Benazir's 8 flats and over 25 acres of land

The court has 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 inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, his wife and daughters.

Dhaka metropolitan court's senior special judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain issued this order yesterday, Wednesday, following an appeal in this regard. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)'s public prosecutor (PP) Mahmud Hossain Jahangir confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.

Earlier, on 12 June, the court had ordered these eight flats as well as the 25 acres and 27 katha of land in the name of Benazir Ahmed, his wife and children, to be seized. These flats are located in Badda and Adabor in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Bandarban and Uttara.

Prior to that, in two phases, the court has ordered the seizure of Benazir and his family's 621 bighas of land in Gopalganj and Madaripur, 19 company shares, and four flats in Gulshan. The court had also ordered that saving certificates of Tk 3 million (Tk 30 lakh), 33 bank accounts and three BO accounts to be frozen. The court had appointed administrators to look after all these assets too.

The court had given the responsibility to take care of the four flats in Gulshan to ACC. Two agricultural officers have been placed in charge of the croplands in Gopalganj and Madaripur. The district livestock officer was placed in charge of the fisheries and animal farms of Benazir Ahmed's family.

PP Mahmud Hossain Jahangir told Prothom Alo that now the court had appointed an administrator to look after the eight flats belonging to Benazir and family in Badda and Adabor. The court has also appointed administrators for 24 kathas of land in Rupganj, Narayanganj, 25 acres of land in Bandarban, and three kathas in Uttara. Once the full-fledged order to the court is received, it will be known as to which agency has been appointed as administrator of the flats and land.

Benazir Ahmed had been IGP from 15 April 2020 till 30 September 2022. Prior to that, he had been the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner and the director general of RAB.

In recent times allegations have arisen against Benazir Ahmed and his family of amassing huge wealth by corrupt and irregular means. Since then ACC has begun investigating his wealth beyond his known source of income.