Benazir again skips ACC questioning
Former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed did not show up today (23 June) for questioning before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
He was scheduled to appear before the investigation committee of ACC at 10am today, said an official of the anti-graft watchdog.
Benazir was initially scheduled to appear before the anti-graft body on 6 June.
However, the ACC investigation team extended the deadline to 23 June following a request from the former IGP’s lawyer, seeking an additional 15 days to respond to the summons notice.
Khurshid Alam, the ACC lawyer, said earlier that evidence of additional illegal assets had been found against Benazir, and the ACC plans to petition the court soon to confiscate these assets.
“If he [Benazir] fails to appear by the due date, legal action as per the law will follow,” the ACC lawyer told reporters on the Supreme Court premises on Thursday (20 June).
The ACC has been investigating the assets of former IGP Benazir Ahmed and his family.
Amid the investigation, he reportedly left the country with his family on 4 May.
Benazir Ahmed served as IGP from April 2020 to September 2022 and as the Director General of RAB from January 2015 to April 2020.
He also held the position of Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) for a long time.
Bangla daily Kaler Kantho first published a report on Benazir’s assets last year.
In the report titled “Aladdin’s Lamp in Benazir’s house”, the newspaper unearthed some of the assets Benazir had allegedly stowed away.
Following an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission, the graft watchdog submitted a petition to a Dhaka court over the matter.
On 19 May, the Dhaka court ordered the disclosure of all properties listed in 119 documents under Benazir and his family members’ names.
On 23 May, the same Dhaka court ordered the seizure of 345 bighas of property listed in 83 documents under Benazir and his family members’ names.
