The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday submitted a report revealing the names and other relevant particulars of 11 officials who were responsible for wrongful conviction of Jaha Alam.
A jute mill worker Jaha Alam served three years jail after being wrongly accused in a loan fraud case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The officials are: Abdullah Al Jahid; Sheikh Mesbah Uddin; Md Masudur Rahman; Debabrata Mondal; Selina Aktar Moni; Sumitra Sen; Silvia Ferdous; Meftahul Jannat; Muhammad Joynal Abedin; Md Saiduzzaman and Rafi Md Nazmus Sadat.
ACC’s lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan placed a report containing the names and particulars of the 11 officials before the court during hearing in a suo moto (voluntary) rule as per its earlier order.
After receiving the report, the HC bench of Justices FRM Nazmul Ahasan and KM Kamrul Kader fixed October 24 for further hearing on this issue.
On August 21, the High Court has asked the names and particulars of the 11 Anti-Corruption Commission officials.
The court refused to accept the report as it failed to mention the names and particulars of the 11 investigating officers, the reasons behind their suspension, and other measures that were taken against them, after it was proven ACC had wrongly accused Jaha Alam in place of someone else.
Jaha Alam was originally sued in 33 cases over loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk18.5 crore from Sonali Bank Limited. After charges were brought against him in 26 of these cases – where he was mistaken for one Abu Salek – Jaha Alam was sent to jail in 2016, and incarcerated for three years.
He was freed from jail on February 4, 2019, after the High Court acquitted him of all charges. The real accused, Abu Salek, is still on the run.
After the report was submitted, the court said it was "vague". The court earlier fixed August 28 as the next date for submitting an appropriate report, with the names and particulars of the officials responsible for making the mistake.
A report prepared by ACC and was placed before the High Court on July 12 and confirmed that it was the ACC investigation officers' blunder that had resulted in the wrongful conviction of Jaha Alam.
The investigation officers' reports on Jaha Alam's so-called loan fraud, was based on information divulged by Bangladesh Bank and Sonali Bank, the report said.
Wednesday's report was prepared by a one-member ACC committee, led by its Director (legal) Abul Hasnat Md Abdul Wadud.
Director Wadud mentioned in the report that Jaha Alam's case was ACC's very first investigation; a case of such sensitive nature should have been investigated by experienced officials.
“Since they were new officials, with very little experience, this mistake happened,” the report added.
On page 18 of the report, the investigator said: "Considering the overall situation, I feel that the mistake in identifying Jaha Alam as Abu Salek was made by the investigation officers.
"Shockingly, a number of bank officials were not charged in spite of their connection to the scam," the report said.
The report also added that 12 officials investigated the scam and submitted their findings, but none of them visited Jaha Alam's hometown in Tangail's Nagorpur upazila.
"But a visit to his shabby home would clearly raise the question as to how a man having crores of taka could live in such a poor condition," Wadud highlighted in the report.
He also said that the first case over the fraud was filed back on February 14, 2010, with the Motijheel police station.
Thereafter, police launched an investigation—but the case was later transferred to the ACC which filed the 33 lawsuits. In the meantime, a final report on the first case was also submitted.
"There was no need to file 33 cases [over the embezzlement]," Wadud opined.
Jaha Alam was arrested on February 6, 2016, after he was mistaken for Abu Salek, who was the original accused in 33 cases that ACC had filed in 2014 over loan fraud and the embezzlement of Tk18.5 crore from Sonali Bank Limited.