Bribery Charge Appellate Div scolds ACC for not arresting DIG Mizan, ACC director Basir

The Appellate Division on Sunday scolded the Anti-Corruption Commission for not arresting ACC director for investigation Khandaker Enamul Basir and deputy inspector general of police Mizanur Rahman though he paid Tk 40 lakh in bribes to Basir to suppress the corruption charges against him.

While hearing an appeal for cancelling bail of Hall Mark Group Chairperson Jesmin Islam in 11 bank swindling cases, a four-judge bench led  by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain called it alarming that the ACC takes no action when its own officials’ corruption gets exposed.

The bench asked the ACC to explain why DIG Mizan was not arrested until now though he bribed an ACC director to suppress the charges of amassing wealth illegally.

Jesmin’s  bail granted by the HC on March 10, in 11 cases of swindling over Tk 1,568 crore from state-run Sonali Bank and Janata Bank was on Sunday cancelled by the Appellate Division  and she was directed to surrender in the trial court within four weeks.

The Appellate Division scolded the ACC for filing the appeal after Jesmin was freed on bail.

The Appellate Division asked the ACC to explain why DIG Mizan was not arrested until now and whether he was more powerful than the ACC.

‘Why the ACC is afraid to arrest DIG Mizan,’ the court asked.

The bench said that there was many example of arresting corruption suspects even if they were not named in first information report of the ACC cases but why its own officials and the DIG were not arrested.         

The court said that the ACC failed to take credible steps to curb corruption.             

On June 10 Basir was suspended for leaking to Mizan information about on-going probes against him for accumulating illegal wealth.

After the media exposed that Basir took Tk 40 lakh as bribe from Mizan for submitting the  inquiry report in his favour, the ACC formed a three-member committee led by secretary Muhammad Dilwar Bakth to probe the charge.

Basir was assigned to hold investigations  against DIG Mizan after he was attached to the police headquarters on the charge of amassing illegal wealth.

On June 10 ACC chairman Iqbal Mahmood told reporters that the commission felt no embarrassments over the incident as it cannot take the responsibility of integrity of 874 ACC officials.

On January 10, Basir met Mizan at the rendezvous of Ramna Park and demanded Tk 50 lakh from him to suppress the corruption charges against him.

As per the deal Mizan paid Tk 25 lakh to Basir on January 15 and Tk 15 lakh on February 25.

On May 30, Basir went to Mizan’s wife’s shop at Police Plaza at Gulshan in the capital and told her that he had submitted report accusing Mizan under pressure from the ACC bosses.

According to ACC officials, during  interrogations by ACC probe team Basir claimed that his fake telephonic conversations with Mizan was aired by a private  TV station.

Asked to comment on the issue, the ACC chairman said that that the authenticity of the telephonic conversations between Basid and Mizan aired by the TV network would be ascertained through forensic tests.

The Appellate Division directed the ACC time and again not to file corruption cases on ‘pick and choose’ basis.

The apex court also admonished the ACC not to let corruption offenders like former BASIC bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu go off the hook.

At a hearing, the Appellate Division scolded the  ACC for keeping Abdul Hye Bacchu and former BASIC Bank directors out of the charges of two cases relating to swindling BASIC Bank’s money by extending fictitious loans to unknown or non-existent borrowers.

The ACC did not arrest Bacchu until now.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net