Violating court order, Raushan Ershad and her son Rahgir Al Mahe Ershad have sold a house on one bigha of land at Gulshan in the capital.
Dhaka Division Special Judge Court in a verdict confiscated the two-storey house to the State on February 3 of 1992 as it was built by the money earned through dishonest means.
Documents to this effect have been collected by the Daily Observer from the departments concerned.
Raushan, wife of former President Lt Gen (retd) Hussain Muhammad Ershad, is the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
The property was sold to MA Khaleque, a businessman, in 2012. And the buyer is now building a giant complex there after demolishing the house.
Some dishonest officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation are reported to have helped sell the property.
According to the documents, the Dhaka Improvement Trust (now RAJUK) leased out the land on plot No 8 and Block No NW (C) to Hussain Muhammad Ershad for 99 years on April 21 of 1980.
Ershad, now Chairman of the Jatiya Party, built the two-storey building on the land. Afterwards, he gave the property to his wife Raushan and son Mahe in 1984, without releasing mortgages of the land from the Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation and Uttara Bank Ltd.
He took Tk four lakh as loan from the two institutions.
Ershad was arrested on December 6 in 1990 when he was compelled to resign from the office of the President in the wake of a mass movement against him.
About Tk 1.90 crore cash, 120 gifts worth Tk 11.2 lakh and a Toyota Land Cruiser car were recovered from Senabhaban where he was staying before the arrest.
Salehuddin Ahmed, former Deputy Director of the defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau, now ACC, lodged a case against him with the Dhaka Cantonment Police Station on January 8, 1991.
During investigation, the ACC found that the total earnings of the accused from service and other sources was Tk 73,21,527.
But the money and goods found in his possession was worth of Tk 29,486,765 showing an amount of Tk 22,165,238 disproportionate to the known sources of income.
Upon the case, the ACC seized the main file of the one bigah of land at the RAJUK on January 12 of 1991.
The Public Works Department regarding the Court order assessed the construction price of the house, which was estimated at Tk 1,533,624.
The assessment certificate (Ext No 36) was submitted before the Court.
Wishing not to be named, a prosecutor of the ACC, told the Daily Observer that the assessment was done as the ACC found that the house was built with the money earned through illegal means.
The main file of the house was also exhibited in the charge sheet of the case.
Ershad, however, failed to prove before the Court that he built the house by honest means.
Later, the Court comprising judge Mohammad Ali Khan in the verdict sentenced three years imprisonment to Ershad and seized the recovered money, Jeep and gifts from Sena Bhaban with the structure on the Gulshan land.
Although the Court in its judgment did not mention the word 'structure or house,' it mentioned Ext No 36, which clearly indicates the structure on the land, according to another lawyer of the ACC who also requested not to be named.
The verdict says, "The seized money of Tk 19,081,565, Art. Ext. IV/36, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and a Toyota Land Cruiser II Jeep be confiscated to the State."
After the judgment, both Ershad and the State side lodged two separate appeals with the High Court challenging the verdict and to extend the duration of the imprisonment against him.
A HC bench has fixed the next Tuesday (May 9) to announce verdict on the both appeals.
Before selling the property, Raushan sought RAJUK's permission for sale.
Upon an appeal of Raushan, the RAJUK on June 13 of 2010 sent a letter to the ACC asking if there was any case or objection to hand over the main file of the land to Raushan.
The ACC on August 16 of 2011 wrote to the RAJUK, saying the file of the land was exhibited as evidence in the charge sheet of the case.
No legal chance remained to take decision on the land file without the direction of the Court, it said.
The sale agreement of the land between Raushan and MA Khaleque was done on June 2 of 2010.
But the RAJUK sent letter to the ACC on July 13 of 2010 and the ACC responded to the RAJUK in 2011.
It means the sale agreement was done before the appeal to RAJUK.
When contacted, Anisur Rahman, Director (Estate and Land-1) of the RAJUK, said that he was not sure if the RAJUK gave the sale permission.
He requested this correspondent to contact his junior officer.
Nasir Uddin Sharif, Assistant Director (Estate and Land-1) of the RAJUK, admitted that the sale permission was provided. And the land has already been muted to MA Khaleque.
When he was asked if the RAJUK had authorisation to approve sales permission to the land whose structure was seized by the Court, he said, "RAJUK does not have such authorisation."
In the meantime, when Raushan and Mahe were about to sell the house, Ershad vetoed.
He wrote a letter to Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation not to release the mortgage without his order on September 22 of 2010.
In the letter, he said that he had taken a loan from the corporation on mortgage of the land on February 20 of 1981 but he did not repay.
Ershad said in the letter, "The file of the house remains confiscated in the file of the case."
Jasim Uddin, Deputy General Manager (Recovery Section) of the corporation, said that the mortgage was released.
But he did not mention the releasing date. Seeking anonymity, another officer of the section told the Daily Observer that the mortgage was released on a back date.
Ershad took loan from the corporation in 1981 and he willed the land in 1984.
And he wrote to the House Building Finance Corporation in 2010 for not to release the mortgage.
It means Ershad willed the land before repaying the loan.
DGM Jasim Uddin, however, explained that after taking loan on any land from the corporation, none had the legal authorisation to hand over or sell the land before repaying the loan.
Reliable sources said that after the veto of Ershad, Raushan came into a contact with him that was to give him a portion of the money from the land sale.
Then the sale permission was given by the RAJUK but it was not granted during registration of the land.
Later, the RAJUK issued the sale permission for the second time.
Maidul Islam, Director General (Legal and Prosecution) of the ACC, has said that the land cannot be sold without permission from the Court.
He added that the ACC clearly said to the RAJUK that the matter was in the court of law.
Supreme Court lawyer Shamsul Haque Kanchan has said that no individual has the right to sell the property unless the court permits. SC Lawyer Asrarul Hoque agreed with Kanchan.
When Raushan Ershad was asked on the matter over phone on Sunday evening, she said she was ill and the phone call was cut off.
Later, she was phoned five other times but she received none of the calls.
