A high-powered probe committee has been formed with a director general of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as its head to look into the disappearance of coal from the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL).
PMO DG (Admin) Khalilur Rahman will lead the three-member probe panel while a joint secretary of the Energy Division and a same-ranked officer from the Power Division are its two members, said sources at the PMO.
Official sources said the new investigation committee was formed in compliance with the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who ordered a high-level investigation into the unusual coal shortage in the country’s only operational coal mine.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid confirmed the formation of the new committee. He, however, could not give the details of the committee and its terms and conditions and scope of works.
The disappearance of coal came to light a few days back when a team from Power Development Board visited the coal mine and found that there was no adequate reserve of coal in the yard of the mine.
As per the official investigation, the stock was found to have a shortage of 148,000 tonnes of coal.
Later, Petrobangla, which operates the coal mine, formed an inquiry committee headed by one of its directors. The committee submitted its report to the State Minister.
The Anti-Corruption Commission also constituted a probe body to look into the disappearance of coal.
However, the Prime Minister asked the authorities concerned to further investigate the incident with a powerful committee.
