During hearing of the case against him for not declaring his assets to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), he pleaded not guilty.

The anti-graft body issued the notice for him to turn in the statement in person on February 18 within 72 hours of receipt.

He said that while in captivity the joint forces had threatened to kill him and his staff in crossfire.

Mamun was taken to the fifth graft tribunal at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar MP Hostel at around 11:00am yesterday. In the dock, he took some time from the judge and wrote a statement.

He read out, "At 12:30am on January 31, I was arrested at one of my acquaintances' house along with the two staff accompanying me and the house owner. They got us into a car, blindfolded. Shortly afterwards, I could tell from their telephone conversation that we were crossing the Hotel Sheraton. After 10 to 12 minutes, I was taken out of the car and led to a room. There, a doctor came and checked my health."

"On February 6, I gave the joint forces an account of my wealth. But they did not believe me and grilled me again.

On March 6, they took me and my staff to a site, threatening to kill us in crossfire. Soon, I was separated from the other two and heard a gunshot. Frightened, I told them that what I had said earlier was true and that I hid nothing.

In the morning of March 25, they grilled me about my wealth. In the videotaped interrogation, I begged that whatever I had to say I should be allowed to say in the court.

I thought I would be produced before a court on March 26. But after roaming the streets, they took me to my house. I realised that I was home only after they had removed the handcuffs and the hood from my face. Out of fear, my wife and children were huddling inside a room at that time. As I was sporting a beard, none could recognise me. My wife fainted at the sight of me. I had to convince her that I was Mamun.

The joint forces then told me that I'd better stay here and spend some time with my family. While I was talking to my family, a policeman came and said that they had found a firearm in my bedroom. At that time, at least 90 people including the Rab and police were in my house.

I was in their custody between January 31 and March 26. After March 26, I was taken into their custody again, this time on a 50-day remand. This is why I could not submit my wealth statement."

The court asked Mamun if he could name any defence witnesses. Mentioning names of different national dailies, Mamun's lawyer pleaded the court to allow him to invite the newspaper editors to corroborate the defendant's claim.

The newspapers had run reports on Mamun's arrest by the joint forces. The court accepted his plea and adjourned the hearing till Thursday noon.

Meanwhile, witnesses in the graft case against former state minister Mir Nasiruddin continued making depositions yesterday while those in the case of Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir began theirs.