Barisal Correspondent :
The Home Ministry has suspended Deputy Commissioner (North) of Barisal Metropolitan Police (BMP) Zillur Rahman on the charge of collecting bribe-fund for promotion of police personnel.
The Home Ministry made the suspension order on Wednesday after the Police Headquarters sent a letter recommending the move, said BMP Commissioner Sobal Kanti Chowdhury.
According to the suspension order signed by Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry Mozammel Haque Khan, the action was taken against Zillur Rahman temporarily for breaching discipline, misconduct, corruption and damaging image of the police department.
The suspended deputy commissioner has been attached to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) office of Sylhet range, says a press release of the Police Headquarters. The press release adds that the decision was made after the primary allegations against Zillur Rahman were proved in the investigation of the Police Headquarters.
Earlier, ten other policemen of the BMP were suspended on the same charge. The suspended cops are assistant sub-inspectors Anisuzzaman, Monir Hossain and Md Hanif, nayek Kabir Hossain; drivers Shahidul Islam, Bablu Jamaddar and Dolon Baral, ration-storekeepers Abbas Uddin and Arifur Rahman, and DB constable Tapas Kumar Mandal.
A three-member internal probe committee led by deputy commissioner (headquarters) of BMP Shoyeb Ahmed was formed to investigate into the allegations against the suspended cops. Shobal Kanti Chowdhury said that the report of this internal probe committee would be submitted soon.
It is alleged that the suspended policemen created a joint fund of around Tk 77 lakh to bribe their superiors to expedite the promotion of 230 Barisal cops. The suspended deputy commissioner was mediating the matter and given an amount from the collected money.
The BMP sources said that collection of money for the joint bribe fund began in January. Some 600 personnel sat for departmental tests successfully in October last year, 230 of them passed and were awaiting promotion. The suspended ten cops were also on the merit list. They made others believe that only the exam success won’t work, and started setting up the fund with each of the 230 personnel contributing Tk 30,000 to Tk 50,000.
Of the collected money, Tk 17 lakh was deposited with a joint account of ASI Anisuzzaman, nayek Kabir Hossain and driver Bablu at a Dutch-Bangla Bank branch in Barisal. The rest of the money was given to Zillur Rahman.
Getting the allegation, the BMP formed a three-member probe committee on June 13. The Police Headquarters also formed a separate probe committee on June 17. The committee summoned Zillur Rahman, Bablu Jamaddar, Kabir and Monir to Dhaka.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque said, “We follow zero tolerance strategy against criminals. If any police official commits any criminal act or corruption, he will not be considered as police. Departmental actions will be taken against those breaking the discipline and misconduct.”
