A written complaint has been submitted to the chief secretary of the Chief Adviser’s Office against Habibur Rahman, who is set to be appointed as the chief engineer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on a contractual basis.
The complaint alleges that appointing him, despite being accused in four cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), violates all rules and regulations and is an unprecedented move.
It also urges the government to prevent his appointment and mentions three other engineers deemed eligible for the position.
On Wednesday, a person named Sirajul Islam submitted the complaint to the Chief Secretary. He confirmed the authenticity of the complaint to Bangla Tribune.
Regarding the allegations, Chief Engineer Habibur Rahman told Bangla Tribune: “The four ACC cases mention six projects, none of which I was the project director for. Since the cases are under investigation, I will accept whatever the findings reveal.”
He further claimed: “A vested group is behind these accusations.”
The complaint says that on September 19, 2023, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism’s CA-1 branch sent a letter to the ACC inquiring about corruption allegations against 14 CAAB officials and employees.
In response, the ACC informed the ministry about Habibur Rahman’s alleged involvement in corruption.
However, despite this, on November 19, 2023, CAAB’s board meeting promoted him to Chief Engineer.
The rules of Civil Aviation say that individuals facing corruption charges cannot be promoted, and no exceptions have been made before. Yet, this rule was violated in Habibur Rahman’s case. Previously, Acting Chief Engineers Nuruddin and Aminul Hasib were not made permanent. Habibur Rahman is set to retire on March 23, but a faction is actively pushing to appoint him as Chief Engineer on a contractual basis before his retirement.
The complaint further alleges that on January 27, the ACC filed a case against 19 individuals for embezzling thousands of crores of taka in the name of airport development.
The accused include former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s defense adviser Tariq Ahmed Siddique, former senior secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Muhibul Haque, former joint secretary Janendranath Sarkar, former CAAB chairman M Mofidur Rahman, former chief engineer Md Abdul Malek, and current chief engineer (then Superintendent Engineer) Md Habibur Rahman.
The following day, the ACC filed a petition in court seeking a travel ban against Habibur Rahman and seven other key accused.
In response, Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain imposed the ban, directing all border and immigration authorities to ensure they cannot leave the country.
Additionally, on February 23, the High Court issued a rule questioning why departmental action should not be taken against him. Despite these legal actions, efforts to appoint him as chief engineer are ongoing.
The complaint also demands an investigation into why a particular group is so determined to appoint Habibur Rahman as chief engineer despite serious corruption allegations.
It further mentions that there are three other qualified engineers for the position—Shahidul Afroz, Zakaria Hossain, and Subhashish Barua.
Meanwhile, in a CAAB board meeting on March 3, a decision was made to extend Habibur Rahman’s tenure as chief engineer for another year on a contractual basis.
At that time, CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Manjur Kabir Bhuiyan told Bangla Tribune: “We nominated him because we could not find a suitable officer.”
