The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested as many as 25 government officials in three northern districts -- Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh -- over allegations of graft, irregularities and misuse of power in one year.
The graft watchdog filed 25 graft cases with its integrated office from January last year to Jan 9 this year.
The arrests in the region came to limelight after Dinajpur's Parbatipur Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) Tazul Islam was detained over the possession of Tk 17.5 million that he allegedly accumulated through various irregularities.
Tajul Islam was arrested on Thursday (Jan 9) after the graft watchdog raided his home in Parvatipur upazila and discovered the cash stashed in travel bags.
ACC Deputy Director Pranav Kumar Bhattacharya said that they have not identified the source of the money.
Meanwhile, executive engineer of National Housing Authority Dinajpur Division Mohammad Delowar Hossain and Deputy Assistant Engineer Abdul Wadud were arrested after allegedly being caught red handed while taking bribe on Jul 28, 2018.
According to ACC, the duo harassed one Nazmun Nahar over the settlement of a building after she refused to pay the Tk 150,000 in bribes they demanded.
Nahar reportedly contacted the ACC and both Delowar and Abdul were caught while taking Tk 60,000 from her.
On Sept 22 last year, Dinajpur District Accounts Office auditor Anwar Pasha and Cotton Development Board (CDB) cashier Ferdous Hossain were arrested with Tk 30,000 bribe money.
The ACC said that one Farhad Hossain, the son of late Khalilur Rahman who was an employee of the CDB complained to the ACC after Anwar and Ferdous refused to fix discrepancies in Khalilur’s retirement benefits without bribe.
They said that while Khalilur was alive a few accounts office employees demanded bribes and on purpose paid Tk 120,000 less than the actual pension amount.
Anwar and Ferdous reportedly demanded Tk 50,000 and Farhad had already paid Tk 10,000 to them. He contacted the ACC office when the duo refused to fix the miscalculations without the said amount of money.
A local government representative and five government officials were arrested on Nov 13 last year in Thakurgaon for allegedly misappropriating six tonne of rice under a false project.
The detainees are Thakurgaon Upazila’s Dholarhat Union Parishad Chairman Shimanta Kumar Nirmal, Thakurgaon Sadar PIO Golam Kibria, Food Controller Biplob Kumar Singha Roy, Goreyahat food depot in-charge Maidul Islam, Thakurgaon Sadar food depot in-charge Shahbuddin Ahmed and Shibganj food depot in-charge SM Golam Kibria.
They reportedly misappropriated six tonne of rice under a five false projects.
According to the ACC Integrated Office, Dinajpur, most of the complaints they receive are against government employees.