Arrest warrants issued against

Warrants were issued on Monday for the arrest of Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s two sons — Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman — in separate cases.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Court’s senior special judge, ANM Bashir Ullah, issued the warrants for the arrest of Arafat and former BNP state minister Fazlur Rahman Patal a few minutes after two tax evasion cases were filed by the National Board of Revenue against them.
Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Mehdi Hasan Talukdar issued the arrest warrant against Tarique, also the BNP’s senior vice-chairman, cancelling his bail petition in an extortion case filed against him in 2007.
The court issued the arrest warrant, cancelling the bail granted earlier to Tarique, as no legal step was taken for extending the period of his bail during the hearing of the case on Monday, said court sources.
The High Court on 2 December, 2009 withdrew the stay order it had issued on the proceedings in the extortion case after the charge-sheet was submitted to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka.
The general manager of Abdul Monem Ltd, Khairul Bashar, filed the case on 9 April, 2007 with the Shahbagh police station, accusing Tarique, his crony Giasuddin Al Mamun and four others of extorting Tk 5 crore from the construction firm.
Tarique is also facing at least a dozen cases filed during the regime of the military-controlled interim administration.
The special judge’s court issued the warrants against Arafat and Fazlur Rahman after hearing two cases filed by the National Board of Revenue.
Deputy tax commissioner Shahin Akhtar Hossain filed the case, accusing Arafat of dodging over Tk 52 lakh in tax from fiscal year 2002-2003 to 2006-2007.
On the other hand, deputy tax commissioner Mizanur Rahman sued former state minister Fazlur Rahman Patal, accusing him of evading over Tk 26 lakh in tax in fiscal year 2005-2006.
Both Tarique and Arafat are now abroad.
Tarique was released from the prison cell in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on 3 September, 2008 after bail was granted by the High Court in all the 14 cases against him. He soon went to London for medical treatment and is still there.
Arafat on 19 July, 2008 went to Bangkok for medical treatment after being paroled on 17 July, 2008. Arafat’s parole was extended several times and he is reportedly still undergoing treatment there.