Carrying on the clean-up drive, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed a case against eight persons, predominantly serving and former high officials of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), for misappropriating over Tk 2.69 crore through denying the lowest bidder in a tender for electric pole supply.
The accused individuals also include a Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) high official and general manager of a firm owned by Azam J Chowdhury, the businessman who came into the limelight through suing detained former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina for extortion over a power-plant project.
The accused persons are former chairman of BREB and incumbent Additional Secretary Dr AKM Helaluzzaman (now OSD), former BREB member (engineering) Abdul Halim Molla (now retired), BREB Secretary Belayet Hossain Chowdhury, Director (development) Torab Ali Akanji, Director (Finance) Mujibur Rahman, Chief Engineer (project) Shahid Uddin Ahmed, BRDB Joint Director Altaf Hossain and Kayes Khalil Khan, general manager of the firm that clinched the contract.
According to the first-information report (FIR), a tender was invited on June 23, 2005 for purchasing 3,500 electric poles. “The contract was awarded to the second-lowest instead of the lowest bidder,” causing loss of the above-stated amount.
ACC Deputy Director Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan filed the case with Khilkhet Police Station under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947.
Source: thedailystar.net
