The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Sylhet

A court here yesterday sentenced Sylhet city BNP president Ariful Haque Chowdhury to 10 years in jail and his wife Shama to three years in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission under the current countrywide purge.

Arif Chowdhury, also commissioner of ward 18 of the city corporation, is now in Sylhet central jail while his wife Shama Haque Chowdhury remained absconding.

District and Sessions Judge M Abdul Gafur pronounced the judgment at about 5pm.

Nasiruddin, Deputy Director of the ACC Sylhet office, filed the case on September 9, 2007 against the couple on charge of accumulating wealth worth over Tk 2.63 crore through corruption.

In the case statement, the complainant alleged that Arif and his wife concealed information about property worth Tk 1.5 crore and amassed another chunk of property worth over Tk 1.58 crore "illegally".