HC upholds jail term for ex-CCF Gani

The High Court yesterday upheld a lower court verdict that jailed former chief conservator of forest Osman Gani for 12 years for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The HC bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty came up with the order, rejecting an appeal filed by Gani challenging the verdict.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the 12 years' jail sentence will be counted from the date of his arrest. 

Law enforcers arrested Gani on May 29, 2007 and seized Tk 1 crore in cash that he had hidden inside a rice drum in the kitchen and a pillow on the balcony and other places in his house in the capital.

Yesterday, Gani's lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder told The Daily Star that his client will move an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the HC verdict.

On June 5, 2008, the lower court also gave three years' imprisonment to Gani's fugitive wife Mohsenara Gani for aiding and abetting her husband in accumulating and protecting the illegal wealth.

Gani and his wife were fined Tk 10 lakh and Tk 1 lakh respectively.

The ACC filed the case on July 26, 2007 for concealing wealth worth around Tk 4.30 crore.