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State loses Tk 7cr in award graft

Ex-state minister among 12 held responsible by probe body

PARTHA PRATIM BHATTACHARJEE
The government was robbed of around Tk 7.04 crore while making and purchasing subpar shields given to foreign friends and organisations as presents for their outstanding contribution to the country's Liberation War, a probe report says.
The report of the investigation committee, formed to identify people involved in making and purchasing substandard shields, held former state minister for Liberation War Affair Ministry AB Tajul Islam and 12 others of his ministry' responsible.
The shields made of wood, gold and silver hardly had any precious metals in them. The American Oak wood used as casings for the shields were also of poor quality and some of them got bent.
The investigation committee led by Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Zillar Rahman submitted the report to the Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque on Thursday.
Zillar told The Daily Star, "I was asked to find out whether there was any proof of the news reports on fraud and if so, who were the people responsible? I have done my job."
Asked why the committee did not recommend any punishment for the people it held responsible, he said it was not the committee's job.
The ministry formed the committee after the media, referring to a Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) test of the shields, reported that the BSTI in 2012 found that each shield only had 2.363 grams of gold and 466.237 gram of brass.
The policy for making the shields which was signed by AB Tajul Islam himself on September 9, 2012, says every shield would be made with 22.5 grams of gold and 339 grams of silver.
The government ended up giving foreign friends poor quality shields even though it had paid a high price to have a good quantity of precious metals in them.
Quoting the probe report, a source in the probe committee said the government incurred a loss of Tk 7.04 crore. The ministry had paid over Tk 11.2 crore for 338 shields given to foreign friends.
Only one of them, the one given to the Indian former prime minister Indira Gandhi, had all the precious materials it was supposed to have.
Contacted, former state minister ABM Tajul Islam said the purchase committee of the ministry monitored the whole process of purchasing the shields.
"I was not in the purchase commit-tee. So, I cannot be held responsible," he told The Daily Star.
The former minister also said the shield given to Indira Gandhi was tested under his supervision. "I asked the ministry officials to test the other crests. I did not get any report on those tests," he added.
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission had tested the shield, worth Tk 1.42 crore, given to Indira Gandhi.
Of the 338 shields, Amecon supplied 278 and M/S Mohasinul Hasan supplied the rest 60.
Ministry sources said that according to a bill prepared by Amecon, it got around Tk 2.94 lakh for each crest and M/S Mohasinul Hasan was paid Tk 1.79 crore for its 60 shields.
After assuming office in 2009, the government initiated a move to honour foreign friends and organisations for their valuable contributions to the Liberation War in 1971 and the initiatives started with honouring Indira Gandhi.
The government honoured 337 more people and organisations in seven phases.
The Daily Star tried several times to reach Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque but he did not receive the phone calls.
The 12 others blamed by the probe body include Secretary of Liberation War Affairs Mizanur Rahman, former secretary KH Masud Siddique, Additional Secretary Golam Mustafa, Joint Secretary Abul Quasem Talukdar, Deputy Secretary Enamul Quader Khan and Senior Assistant Secretary Babul Mia.
Golam Mustafa and Babul Mia were made Officer on Special Duty (OSD) before the probe report was submitted. Abul Kashem Talukdar was made OSD allegedly for obtaining fake freedom fighters' certificate.
The post OSD is regarded as a punishment post.