Meanwhile, he confessed before a magistrate his involvement in extorting Tk 5 crore from a local agent of Chinese Harbin Power Engineering.

Proceedings of an arms case filed against Mamun were adjourned until May 20, as he was not produced before a Dhaka court yesterday.

Mamun, a close friend of BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman, was finally sent to jail custody yesterday after his arrest on March 25 at his Banani DOHS house in connection with an arms case filed with Cantonment Police. Police seized a .22 bore Spanish pistol and eight bullets at his house. Later, an arms case was filed against him.

Mamun was taken on a four-day remand after being produced before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) on March 26.

On April 26, Cantonment police submitted the charge sheet against Mamun to the CMM court, Dhaka showing 12 people as prosecution witnesses.

MAMUN'S CONFESSION
Mamun confessed to a magistrate yesterday that he was involved in extorting Tk 5 crore from a local agent of Chinese Harbin Power Engineering.

Heavily guarded by police, Mamun was brought to the chamber of Metropolitan Magistrate ABM Abdul Fattah around 2:30pm where he admitted his involvement in the extortion of Tk 5 crore.

After recording his statement, the same magistrate ordered him to be sent to jail, as there were no other remand prayers to interrogate him.

He told the magistrate that he alone had extorted the money from Khadiza Islam, chairman of a firm that is the local work agent of Chinese Harbin Power Engineering, on different dates.

In the case, the complainant said her company won a work order for constructing the Tongi 80-megawatt power plant as the lowest bidder in October 2002 but the file remained stuck at a ministry concerned.

On October 2, 2002 Mamun called her to his Banani office and demanded Tk 5 crore for final release of the work order.

He also threatened her of dire consequences if she did not provide the amount. Khadiza got the work order released from the ministry after she promised to pay the money.

The complainant mentioned that a few months later she deposited Tk 4.5 crore to Mamun's account in a Singapore bank as per his direction.

Khadiza said in April 2006 Mamun again demanded money and put pressure on her to deposit two cheques, Tk 25 lakh each, to his account in HSBC Gulshan branch.

Mamun had made confessional statements to magistrates on different dates in connection with eight other extortion cases filed with Gulshan, Kafrul, Shahbagh and Dhanmondi police stations.