The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday filed a case against former Director General of Bangladesh Railway Shamsuzzaman and two other senior officials on charges of irregularities, fraud, and embezzlement of government funds in the purchase of locomotives.
ACC assistant director Md. Abul Kalam Azad filed the with the ACC’s Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1.
The two other accused are Manzurul Alam Chowdhury, former Additional Director General (Rolling Stock), Mohammad Hasan Monsur, former Additional Director General (Development) of Bangladesh Railway.
According to the ACC complaint, the accused colluded to abuse government authority by violating tender specifications and contractual terms during the procurement of 10 meter-gauge locomotives.
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Engines, alternators, traction motors, compressors, and turbochargers were not supplied as per specifications, yet the locomotives were accepted.
Although the contract required Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) in the presence of an international inspection agency, the engines were shipped and received without it.
The substandard locomotives were accepted without the consent of the project director or supervising authority, according to the complaint.
Through fraud and forgery, the accused directly embezzled over Tk 1.36 crore, while the government suffered losses of approximately Tk 322 due to the import of substandard locomotives.
The irregularities occurred between November 2015 and September 2020.