M M Jasim :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is facing widespread criticism as its investigation team had submitted a report on BASIC Bank loan scam to the commission on August 4, recommending filing cases against 56 people, excluding the bank’s the then Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu.
The ACC, in this backdrop had to take actions against a good number of its officials for taking bribes and other facilities from the accused institutions and persons during the investigation.
Recently, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith had said, “Massive embezzlement took place in BASIC Bank. Its former Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu was behind it. A lot of evidences were also found.
Now it will be easier to take action against him (Bachchu).” In the meantime, the ACC has abolished 11 teams working at the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Health Department, Education Engineering Department, Dhaka City Corporations, Roads and Highways Department, Local Government Engineering Department, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Bangladesh Government Officer-Employee Welfare Board, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and Rajdhani Unnoyan Kartripakkha due to corruption and irregularities of its officials.
ACC Chairman M Badiuzzaman told The New Nation on Monday that these institutional teams have been abolished as members there were found involved with many irregularities.
“No outcome we got from the 11 institutional teams. The teams did not perform properly. That is why we abolished the teams,” he said.
Badiuzzman, however, said they always keep an eye on the activities of their officials through the surveillance unit.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Advocate Sultana Kamal told The New Nation that everyone knows what is happening in ACC. She said her organisation suggested the government to make this anti-corruption body strong on several occasions, but of no outcome.
Sultana Kamal said in many of the cases the Commission investigators had allegedly prepared weak charge sheets for kickbacks.
“Many of its officials are involved with corruption as they take bribe from the accused persons and submit weak charge-sheets. As a result, the Commission cannot bring the unscrupulous people to justice,” She said.
Former ACC Chairman Gulam Rahman expressed his dissatisfaction over the activities of the organisation saying it lacked adequate power to fight against corruption. “It is not legally strong enough to fight the corruption.”
An official of the ACC wishing anonymity told The New Nation that there are a number of unscrupulous officials who always take bribe from the accused. The unethical jobs of the officials are also responsible for loosing its reputation and dignity.
So far the ACC has taken legal actions against 28 of its officials for taking bribes and committing other offences through internal investigation over the last decade, confirmed the Commission’s administration department.
Meanwhile, the list of the officials has been sent to the Cabinet Secretary and other concerned departments.
The officials are – Deputy Directors Dali Abdus Samad, Shafiqul Islam, Syed Ahsan Ali, MM Sabbir Hasan, Kamrul Ahsan and Abu Nasir, assistant inspectors Nizam Uddin, Abul Hashem, Abu Nosor, Rais Uddin and Mofizur Rahman, Control operators Abdur Rahman, Habib Ullah and Abu Yusuf Shah, constables Miznur Rahman, Golam Rasul, Harun-Or-Rashid Bhuiyan, Motaleb Khandakar, Faruk Ahmed, Khusrau Jahan, Abdul Mutalib, Gulam Rabbani, Shahidur Rahman Bhuiyan, Nazmul Huda, Moshaykur Rahman Khadem and Imran Hossain Hayder and security guards Amit Kumar Das and Jobaydul Islam.
Out of the 28, the Commission suspended 13, sent into forced retirement two officials, while the others were handed punishment of different terms.
On October 16, 2014, the Commission fired its Assistant Inspector M Mofizur Rahman and Control Operator Abdur Rahman for being involved in the leak of question papers of admission tests to Dhaka University and Jagannath University. Earlier, the Detective Branch of police arrested Mofizur Rahman on October 21, 2010 for leaking the question papers through digital technology.
The Commission suspended its Deputy Director M M Sabbir Hasan in 2011 after he was caught red-handed by the Rapid Action Battalion with Tk 10 lakh in Chittagong.
