The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) detained a senior income tax official as he was accepting Tk10 lakh – an instalment of Tk60 lakh – in bribes at the Rajshahi income tax office on Tuesday.
The detained is Deputy Tax Commissioner Mohibul Islam Bhuiyan.
The ACC later filed a cased against him and sent him to a Rajshahi court, which ordered him to be sent to jail.
ACC Rajshahi Divisional Director Kamrul Ahsan said Mohibul had demanded Tk60 lakh in bribes from the complainant, gynaecologist Dr Fatima Siddiqui, threatening to bring allegations of tax evasion against her.
When the doctor left Mohibul's office after paying Tk10 lakh on Tuesday, a nine-member team of the ACC, led by Kamrul Ahsan, entered the office around 11:30am and found the money with him following a scuffle.
After hearing his screams, tax office staff rushed to the scene, broke open the door and attacked the ACC officials, he added.
The ACC team then called the police, who later brought the situation under control.
Rajshahi Tax Commissioner Shah Ali said: “ACC officials called me and said that a complaint had been received. They will work in this regard.”
“ACC is an independent institution. They work independently. They asked us for cooperation. My office has cooperated with them. And I cannot say anything about the fight or assault because I was not there at that time. Officially, no one has said anything about the incident.”
“There are legal procedures for the work done by tax officials. There is no need to report every work to the commissioner's office. It was not known what is going on with that file. Now higher authorities have been informed about the incident. Necessary steps will be taken as directed by them,” he added.
Deputy Tax Commissioner Mohibul Islam Bhuiyan told journalists after his detention: “I was outside the office when Dr Fatima Siddiqui entered and kept the money in the drawer. At the time, some ACC officials pushed me into the room, locked the door and beat me. Later, the door was opened.”