TDS Desk:

No matter how influential former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed is, if he commits a crime, he will be punished, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said on Friday.

Quader made the comment a day after a Dhaka court directed authorities to seize Benazir’s land properties in Gopalganj, encompassing 83 deeds, and to freeze 33 bank accounts involved in the investments.

Claiming that the Anti-Corruption Commission and the judiciary are independent, Quader said, “If someone is found guilty in a trial, no matter how powerful a person is, he or she must be punished.”

Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, was addressing a press conference held at the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in Gulisthan area of Dhaka this noon.

About Benazir’s indulgence in corruption and amassing a huge amount of wealth, Quader said that even an influential person can commit crimes and misdeeds but, it is a matter of whether the government is keen to ensure punishment.

“The Sheikh Hasina-led government possesses honest courage. If he (Benazir) is found guilty in the trial, why would we protect him?” said the Awami League leader.

Clearing the government stance against corruption, he said no matter whether the offender is a former IGP or a former chief of the army staff, they must be tried under the country’s existing law.

Referring to the BUET student Abrar murder case, he said all the offenders belonged to Awami League’s student front Bangladesh Chhatra League but, the government did not provide them protection.

Reiterating the government’s zero tolerance policy against corruption and crime, Quader said, “Our government treats an offender just as an offender and they won’t be spared.”