THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has admitted their responsibility for wrongly implicating Jaha Alam in a graft case, which resulted in him languishing in jail for three years. In 2012, the ACC filed 33 cases against a number of individuals over misappropriation of Tk 18.5 crore from Sonali Bank. In 26 of the cases, Abu Salek, a businessman, was accused. But the ACC identified Jaha Alam as Salek. He was arrested in 2016 and sent to jail. The Jaha Alam case is an example of lack of integrity of the investigation system, carelessness of the ACC.
When the issue of wrongly implicating Jaha Alam surfaced in the media, the HC intervened and ordered his release. He was released from Kashimpur Central Jail-2 in Gazipur on February 4 this year. The 22-page probe report not only describes how Jaha Alam was wrongly implicated in the graft cases but also details the negligence, flaws and violation of the rules by the authorised ACC enquiry official, 12 investigation and supervising officials.
In 2010, General Manager of a local office of Sonali Bank filed a case with Motijheel Police Station, accusing Salek of misappropriating money. The case was later sent to the ACC for further investigation. After that, a series of carelessness of the ACC officials and the police compiled the evidence necessary for implicating someone that ultimately implicated a wrong one.
“Trail the money” is an important tool in graft cases to find out the beneficiaries of corruption. If the tool was applied properly, an innocent person like Jaha Alam would have not been harassed. The Commission badly needs a forensic Accounting Department to make its financial investigation more authentic. But first of all, it needs to conduct a cleansing operation inside the Commission to identify the officials and employees who are involved in corruption. Very recently, a corruption allegation has raised against a director -level ACC official who received Tk 40 lakh bribe from a Senior Police Officer.
We think, the ACC should pay compensation to Jaha Alam for its utter negligence. Besides, the judiciary and police cannot escape their ineptness. The case should be a whistle-blowing for protecting innocent people from carelessness and irresponsibility of the state apparatus.
When the issue of wrongly implicating Jaha Alam surfaced in the media, the HC intervened and ordered his release. He was released from Kashimpur Central Jail-2 in Gazipur on February 4 this year. The 22-page probe report not only describes how Jaha Alam was wrongly implicated in the graft cases but also details the negligence, flaws and violation of the rules by the authorised ACC enquiry official, 12 investigation and supervising officials.
In 2010, General Manager of a local office of Sonali Bank filed a case with Motijheel Police Station, accusing Salek of misappropriating money. The case was later sent to the ACC for further investigation. After that, a series of carelessness of the ACC officials and the police compiled the evidence necessary for implicating someone that ultimately implicated a wrong one.
“Trail the money” is an important tool in graft cases to find out the beneficiaries of corruption. If the tool was applied properly, an innocent person like Jaha Alam would have not been harassed. The Commission badly needs a forensic Accounting Department to make its financial investigation more authentic. But first of all, it needs to conduct a cleansing operation inside the Commission to identify the officials and employees who are involved in corruption. Very recently, a corruption allegation has raised against a director -level ACC official who received Tk 40 lakh bribe from a Senior Police Officer.
We think, the ACC should pay compensation to Jaha Alam for its utter negligence. Besides, the judiciary and police cannot escape their ineptness. The case should be a whistle-blowing for protecting innocent people from carelessness and irresponsibility of the state apparatus.
