By IANS
Dhaka : A former minister in Bangladesh has been convicted on charges of possessing 21 bottles of foreign liquor in violation of law.
Anwar Hossain Manju, who also heads a faction of the Jatiya Party and partly owns the Bengali newspaper Ittefaq, has been sentenced to five years in jail for keeping liquor at his residence. He has also been slapped with a fine.
Possession of foreign liquor without declaration is an offence in Bangladesh.
This is the first time that a former minister has been convicted on such a charge, Daily Star said Wednesday. Another former minister and lawmaker Moudud Ahmed is also facing a similar charge.
Manju, a former communication minister, has reportedly been unwell and is presently abroad for treatment.
Judge Sayed Jahed Mansur of the Metropolitan Special Tribunal declared that Manju was "absconding" and rejected the defence counsel plea to recall seven prosecution witnesses for cross-examination.
There is another case pending against Manju – for having allegedly favoured a firm in the award of an oil contract.