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5,000 on-trial graft cases run into snags

ACC to serve letter on 22 more ministries about missing vehicles

Julfikar Au Manik
Over 5,000 on-trial corruption cases filed by the former Bureau of Anti Corruption (Bac) have run into snags, as former Bac officials are not appearing in court because of their present status as 'reserved government employees'.
The Anti - Corruption Commission (ACQ isnow supposed to run the cases after the dissolution of Bac, but it is facing difficulties due to the row between the government and the ACC over the status of for-merBacemployces.
The commission is considering seeking urgent government directives to continue the cases.
The ACC will, meantime, send a letter tomorrow to 22 more ministries, asking them about several thousand missing vehicles.
It has also begun investigation into eight other corruption complaints including three in the mobile phone project of the state telecoms
monopoly Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board, the shipping ministry and theforest department.
The government yesterday withdrew Reza-e-Rabbi who it appointed as ACC Secretary on December 22.
The fate of the on-trial corruption cases was thrown, into uncertainty immediately after dissolution of Bac on November 21 with the formation of the commission.
Uncertainty loomed over the fate of 1,107 Bac staff due to the ongoing debate about whether they would be absorbed in the commission.
On taking office on Novcmbcr23, ACC Chairman Justice Sultan Hossain Khan declared them as ACC staffs, saying a screening would be conducted later to finalise who would continue in the commission.
But the government, on January 3, ordered them not to work with the ACC until formulation of necessary rules and regulations and declared
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the former Bac staffs as the government's reserved employees,
Bac staff earlier filed the cases, investigated those, pressed charges and were testifying and producing evidence before court. But they stopped working on the cases after the dispute over their status surfaced. Many former Bac staff are going to the ACC office in Agargaon but are not working, leading to a stalemate over the 548 corruption cases now on trial with the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Special Court for Dhaka Division and the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Dhaka.
Trial of one or more cases is scheduled every day for hearing but there is no-one to produce necessary evidence and testify.
The Bac office attached to the CMM's Court in Dhaka is complain-ingto the ACC that no-one is turning up in court and givingstatements.
The ACC verbally ordered them to attend court proceedings after some former Bac officials responsible for these informed the commission about the matter. But the Bac officials are not complying with the verbal orders.
"We have asked for written orders," said one Bac official.
But the commission is not issuing any written orders on them, as they are not commission staff.
Some former Bac officials told The Daily Star that they cannot appear in court after the government ordered them not to work.
Some others who were to attend courts outside Dhaka are also not doing so either, as they are not getting any tour orders from the ACC. On January 9. the ACC decided to temporarily attach district anticorruption officers of Bac to the ACC to preserve the case-related documents and conduct the cases. But the next day the law ministry wrote to the ACC to say that the interpretation of the attorney general on the status of ex-Bac staffs is incorrect, prompting the ACC to go backonthe move.
ACC sources fear court may take one-sided decisions due to the absence of the complainant and bits ofevidencenotbeingproduced.
In the wake of the complexities, the ACC is considering taldng the matter up immediately with the government.
Although the commission has drafted a letter to seek government directives to settle the matter, it will sit again in a couple of days before sending the letter to the cabinet secretary.
ACCPROBE
Nine of the 13-ministries the commission asked on January 1 for statements on the whereabouts of government vehicles have responded.
The move came after the ACC learnt that the vehicles were being used for personal business although those were to be sent back to central transport pool of the government on completion of government projects.
"We primarily found some replies as unacceptable," ACC Commissioner Maniruddin Ahmed toldThe Daily Star.
ACC Chairman Justice Sultan said, "Some of the ministries informed us that the vehicles are now being used for government work. We'll verifyitsoon."
"We'll initiate legal steps if we find any corruption," hesaid.
After the ACC sent the letters, the planning ministry on January 3 informed it that only 133 of 4,230 vehicles under different projects of 35 ministries were returned to government transport pool on project completion.
The ACC later decided to write to 22 more ministries for statements about the vehicles,
"We've drafted the letters and will send those to the ministries on Saturday (tomorrow)," the ACC chairman said.
Former Bac director (Administration) Lt Col Hannan Mridhaisstill involved with processing the letters despite the government prohibition on former Bac staff.
He was heading the inquiry into corruption in the use of government vehicles and had signed letters to 13 secretaries of different ministries.
The commission, meanwhile, initiated inquiry into eight allegations of corruption including the BTTB mobile phone project, financial corruption in payment of rice depot charge at Mongla port by the shipping ministry, corruption by a forest conservator and irregularities in buying railway steelsleepers.
The ACC received a complaint that the government will loseTk 223 crore to forgery in the deed of BITS mobile phone project. An inquiry team has been formed to probe the matter.
The shipping ministry moved to release 7,000 metric tons. rice imported from India in 1999 and kept at a depot at Mongla port by payingTk 14 lakh in charges instead ofTk7croredue.
RABBI WITT (DRAWN
The establishment ministry in an official notification yesterday said Reza-e-Rabbi has been withdrawn and placed in the Cabinet Division.
The commission refused to allow Rabbi, a former acting secretary, to join the commission.
Bashir Uddin Zindigir, aSuprerne Court advocate, filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging Rabbi's appointment and the court on January 2 stayed his appointment
Cabinet Secretary Sadaat Hussain during his meeting with the commission on January 8 had said that the government would withdraw Rabbi.