Dhaka court today sent former jute and textiles minister Shajahan Siraj to jail in a tax evasion case in which he was earlier sentenced to eight years in trial in absentia.

Judge Jesmin Anwar of the special Judge's court-4 sent him to jail after he appeared before the court and sought bail in this case.

The judge also ordered the jail authorities to take special arrangement for his treatment and award him division in jail. Advocate Ashraful Alam, barrister Omar Sadat and Sarwat Siraj Shukla stood for the defendant while special public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajal for the state in the hearing.

The defendant's counsels said the cases were filed during the caretaker government to harass him politically. Siraj remained fugitive to save his life, they said. The High Court on Jan 25 granted him bail in the tax evasion case.

The National Board of Revenue filed the case against Siraj during emergency rule, alleging that he had evaded paying tax on money spent for the wedding of his daughter, barrister Sarwat Siraj Shukla.

On August 30, 2007, the Fourth Special Court sentenced Shajahan to eight years' imprisonment in connection with two offences of tax evasion. The court also fined him Tk 2 lakh.

Earlier on April 22, 2008, another special court sentenced the former minister to 13 years' imprisonment for amassing assets illegally and concealing wealth information from Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). It also fined him Tk 10 lakh.