The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted raids on Sunday at the Passport Directorate in Agargaon and the Dhaka Metro Circle-2 office of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in Mirpur, Dhaka, following allegations of customer harassment and irregularities.
Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, ACC’s deputy director and public relations officer, said allegations of customer harassment and bribes demanded through brokers had been reported against officials and employees of the Dhaka Divisional Passport Office.
Acting on these complaints, an ACC team conducted the raid.
The team initially arrived undercover to observe the overall service situation at the office. They then gathered information from service seekers.
During the operation, two brokers were caught red-handed and handed over to the passport office authorities for action.
The ACC team also instructed the passport office to take immediate measures to stop customer harassment based on the information gathered during the raid.
Meanwhile, the ACC also conducted a raid at the BRTA in Mirpur following complaints about irregularities in vehicle registration, fitness certification, and license issuance.
ACC officials, posing as regular customers, spoke with service seekers during the inspection.
Several customers complained about not receiving services or digital cards despite long waits.
When asked about these issues, the assistant director (Engineering) of the BRTA’s Dhaka District Circle assured that steps are being taken to resolve the problems promptly.
Based on the findings from both raids, the ACC’s enforcement team will submit a detailed report to the commission.
Additionally, out of seven complaints, five have been addressed through official letters to the relevant government offices, instructing them to take necessary action.