Anti-Corruption Commission
CCC's shop leasing: 20 people acquitted from ACC case
A Chattogram court on Tuesday acquitted 20 people, including an Awami League leader, from a case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for leasing Chattogram City Corporation’s (CCC) 23 shops without publishing tender in the newspaper in 1997.
Chattogram Divisional Special Judge Munshi Abdul Majid passed the order.
Those cleared of the case are- Md Jahedul Alam Chowdhury, Khorshed Alam Chowdhury, Bakhtiyar Uddin Khan, AM Mainul Haque and his wife Nazneen Sultana, Mubarak Ullah, Nezamul Haque, Hosne Ara Begum, Md Yunus, Sheikh Sarwardi, Ishtiaq Ahmad Chowdhury, Md Ershadul Haque, Hasina Bhuiyan, Nur Nahar Begum, Hasan Murad, Didarul Islam, Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Golman Ara Begum, Anjuman Ara Begum Minu and Mahbub Mintu.
Earlier, former mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, the main accused in the case, was absolved by the court due to his death.
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Advocate Sheikh Iftekhar Saimul Chowdhury, counsel for the defendants, said around 24 people were accused in this case. The ACC charge sheet recommended the acquittal of three persons during the main period. The ACC could not prove the allegations against the remaining 20 people before the court.
“And so, we plead to the court for the acquittal of all the accused in the supplementary charge sheet,” he added.
According to ACC, the 23 shops built by Chattogram City Corporation at Muradpur in the city were allotted between January and December in 1997. The then ACC inspector Shamsul Alam filed a case against 24 people at the Kotwali Police Station on October 13 in 2002, alleging lease of the shops without publishing tender in the newspaper and verification.
Later, another ACC inspector Md Mobinul Islam also submitted a memorandum of evidence (ME) to the court.
According to the ME, Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury did not publish any tender in the newspaper regarding the shop lease. The then mayor provided a written allotment order fixing the price and monthly rent of his shop.
Later, another inspector Jahangir Alam reviewed the ME of the two previous investigating officers and submitted a charge sheet in the court on February 9 in 2006.
Following the writ petition of Mohiuddin Chowdhury, the High Court stayed the proceedings of the case on 22 February of the same year.
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On December 6 in 2012, the High Court lifted the ban on the proceedings of the case by dismissing the rule relating to the writ petition. Then the trial of the case began.
On January 16 in 2019, the court directed further investigation into the case. According to the instructions of the ACC head office of the court, Fakhrul Islam, assistant director of ACC’s Chattogram integrated district office-1, submitted the charge sheet after investigating the case.
ACC case against policeman in Chattogram
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Chattogram Police inspector and former officer-in-charge (OC) of Lohagara and Sandwip Md Shajahan for concealing information on his assets.
ACC Chattogram-2 Region Deputy Director Ratan Kumar Das filed the case on Tuesday.
In the case filed by the ACC, Inspector Shahjahan has been accused of misusing his power and concealing information on acquiring assets worth Tk 49.39 lakh. At the same time, assets worth Tk 78.1 lakh is found to be inconsistent with his known source of income.
READ: Social Islami Bank official sued by ACC
Earlier, ACC directed the Md Shajahan and his wife Ferdousi Akter to file separate statements of assets.
Md Shahjahan joined Lohagara police station on 12 June 2012 as OC. There he was accused of various irregularities including abuse of power, illegal arrests and acquisition of assets. He was later transferred to Swandip over the allegations. Similar allegations were raised against him in Swandip too.
READ: Ex-OC Pradeep denied bail again in ACC case
In February 2018, ACC Chattogram-2 started an investigation based on a complaint lodged by a person named Harun at the ACC head office in Lohagara.
ACC probes alleged irregularities in Bangladesh Textile University admission tests
An enforcement team of the Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday met the officials of Bangladesh Textile University to check on the spot alleged irregularities in admission test results.
Deputy Director of ACC Public relation office Muhammad Arif Sadeq told UNB that the enforcement team headed by Assistant Director Mohammad Niyamul Ahsan Ghazi.
Read: ACC files graft case against retired Titas man
The ACC team discussed the allegations in detail with the vice chancellor of the university and other related officials.
They informed the team that the results of the admission test for the BSc in Textile Engineering course of Bangladesh Textile University for the year 2020-21, published on Nov 11,2021 were found to be erroneous due to technical defects in the software.
The result was withdrawn on November 18, 2021 while the corrected results were re-published as per the decision of the meeting of the Admission Committee on 19-11-2021, the university authorities informed.
Read: ACC lodges graft case against a Titas gas company sales assistant, his wife
The ACC team checked the records related to the allegations and collected records related to the complaint from the university.
The enforcement team will submit a report to the commission after reviewing the information gathered about the allegations.
ACC sues ex-jailer Sohel Rana for misappropriating Tk 2.74 cr
The Anti-Corruption Commission ( ACC) on Monday filed a case against former jailer of Chattogram central jail Sohel Rana Biswas for misappropriating around Tk 2.74 crore.
ACC deputy director in Chattogram Abu Sayed filed the case with Chattogram Coordinated Office, said Deputy Director of ACC Public Relations office Muhammad Arif Sadeq.
Read: ACC sues Barguna’s Amtoli municipality mayor, wife
According to the case statement, the jailer did not mention about Tk 40 lakh in his wealth statement which was submitted on September 18, 2019.
ACC in their investigation found that he had also amassed TK 2. 34 crore through corruption and bribery, it also said.
On October 26 last year, Sohel Rana was arrested from a Mymensingh-bound train along with Tk 44.4 lakh cash, over Tk1 crore in cheques and 12 bottles of phensidyl.
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ACC quizzes BNS chairman on graft charges
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday quizzed the chairman of BNS Group of Companies MNH Bulu in connection with grabbing of a government plot.
ACC Director Sheikh Fanfillah and Deputy Director Subash Dutta questioned him at the ACC head office.
According to ACC, the BNS Group chairman bought a plot in Gulshan from Anawar Alam. Anwar in collision with the officials of RAJUK and the Public Works Department illegally took many plots in Gulshan and Dhanmondi areas.
READ: Rajbari Regional Passport Office under ACC scanner
Earlier, the ACC received a number of graft allegations, including income tax dodging and construction of a building in the capital without the approval of city authority, against the BNS Group chairman.
According to the allegations received by the ACC, Bulu built BNS Centre at the city’s Uttara Sector 7 without the approval of Rajuk, and swindled about Tk 22 crore of customers’ money by selling the properties.
READ: ACC probes allegation of loan embezzlement at Agrani bank
Rajbari Regional Passport Office under ACC scanner
Anti-Corruption Commission ( ACC) on Sunday conducted a drive at the Rajbari Regional Passport Office as the Commission received allegations of bribery for providing passport services to customers.
Deputy Director of ACC public relations office Muhammad Arif Sadeq told UNB that an enforcement team led by Assistant Director of Integrated District Office in Faridpur Kamlesh Mandal raided the passport office.
The spokesperson also said that an ACC Enforcement Team visited the passport office, questioned the concerned officials about the allegations and recorded their statements in this regard.
READ: ACC probes allegation of loan embezzlement at Agrani bank
The team has also asked for some specific documents provide various documents related to corruption, he added.
The ACC Enforcement Team will submit the final report along with the necessary recommendations after verifying the papers received from the passport.
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ACC files case against three people for misappropriation of govt funds
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Friday filed a case against three people, including a former caretaker of the 250-bed Kushtia General Hospital over alleged misappropriation of government funds.
Deputy Director of ACC Public relation office Muhammad Arif Sadeq confirmed the case to UNB.
Read: Tk 37.7mn missing: ACC files case against two Dhaka Bank officials
The accused are- retired supervisor of the hospital Hasanujjaman, assistant repairer cum training engineer of National Electro- Medical Equipment Maintenance Workshop & Training Center (NEMEMW & TC) AHM Abdus Quddus, proprietor of Paragon Enterprise Jahedul Islam.
Read: ACC files case against 17 people including 16 AB bank officials
The accused together embezzled more than 1 crore 10 lakh by procuring medical equipment at a price higher than the market price for illegal financial gain without verifying or collecting the market price of medical equipment before the call.
ACC approves case against DGHS driver
The Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday approved a case against Abdul Malek, a driver of the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) and his wife Nargis Begum.
Assistant director of ACC's head office Syed Nazrul Islam lodged the cases on February 14,2021.
According to the first case, Abdul Malek (currently suspended) has amassed Tk 1,50,31,810 illegally but submitted a false statement of Tk 93,53,648 to the ACC.
READ: Following complaints, ACC launches drive against Jibon Bima MD
Malek was also made lone accused in the first case for concealing information regarding his wealth.
Malek and his wife Nargis Begum were made accused in the second case.
According to the second case statement, Malek directly assisted his wife in acquiring wealth worth Tk 1,10,92,050 beyond known sources of income.
President Hamid urges ACC to go hard after the corrupt people
President Abdul Hamid on Sunday asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take necessary steps to ensure punishment of the corrupt.
The President made the call while the ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah and Commissioner Md Zahurul Haque met him at Bangabhaban this evening.
President's press secretary Joynal Abedin told reporters that during the meeting, the ACC chairman briefed the President about the overall activities of the commission and raised the issue of ACC office infrastructure and manpower crisis.
READ: Following complaints, ACC launches drive against Jibon Bima MD
Mentioning that Bangladesh is moving forward on the path of development and progress, President Hamid said that prevention of corruption is essential for making it sustainable.
He said that initiatives should be taken by the educational institutions, society and family so that the young generation can grow up with attitude to hate corruption.
The President hoped that the commission would take strict measures to curb institutional corruption as well as informal corruption.
HC orders investigation on assets and bank accounts of Rajarbagh Pir
The High Court on Sunday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the assets and bank accounts held by Rajarbagh Darbar Sharif and its Pir Dillur Rahman and submit a report accordingly.
The court also directed Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) of police to investigate if the Pir has any connection with any militant group.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order issuing a rule during a hearing on the writ petition filed by eight people harassed by false cases filed across the country by the Pir and his followers.
The court also directed the Criminal investigation Department (CID) to submit an investigation report within 60-days on all the false cases filed by the Pir and his followers.
Read: HC to pass order on phone tapping on Sept 29
In the rule, the court questioned why legal actions will not be taken against the accused for filing false, confusing and harassing cases making 20 including the senior secretary of the home ministry and police chief respondents.
Advocate Shishir Monir presented the petitioner’s side during the hearing while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar stood for the state.
On September 16, the eight victims filed the writ petition which said the syndicate of Pir Dillur Rahman violated their basic rights bestowed by articles 27, 31, 32 of the constitution in filing the false criminal cases against them.
Earlier on June 7, Ekramul Ahsan Kanchan, 55, resident of Shantibagh area in Dhaka filed a writ petition before the court to quash the 49 false cases filed against him across the country by syndicate of the Rajarbagh Pir.
Following which, the High Court directed CID to investigate the matter.
Read: HC turns down writ challenging tree felling at Suhrawardy Udyan
According to CID’s investigation report the Pir and his syndicate was pressuring Ekramul to handover a portion of his and his brother’s land in the name of Darbar Sharif which he denied.
Being upset Pir and his followers filed number of cases, including violence against women, rape, robbery, human trafficking against Ekramul in different districts.
On September 8, upon the submission of the report High Court expressed surprise over the Pir syndicate grabbing other’s lands and assets.