The Anti-Corruption Commission has found proof of involvement of three more of its officials in forging freedom fighters certificates while cleared similar allegations against five others.
On Tuesday, an inquiry team of the ACC submitted its findings proving involvement of Director General (legal) Kamrul Hasan Mollah, Director Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, and Deputy Director Dhali Abdus Samad. A high official at the commission told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the investigation found proof of the five officials’ contribution to the country’s Liberation War.
The Mukti Barta (a red newsletter documenting the names of freedom fighters which the government considers authentic) contains the names of these five officials, he said requesting not to be named.
The five officials are ACC Deputy Director SM Golam Maula Siddiqui who is registered on the Mukti Barta 0118010275, former deputy director Ranjan Kumer Mojumder (0115020117), Assistant Inspector Abdus Sobhan who is presently on post-retirement leave (0211040188), Assistant Sub-Inspector Nurul Islam (0117130060) and Ishak Fakir (0116070076).
The inquiry team had earlier submitted report against ACC Director Golam Yahiya on November 16 last year, depicting his involvement in forging the freedom fighter’s certificate to enjoy special facilities. Yahiya resigned from the commission soon after the allegation against him surfaced.
The ACC official said: “Inquiry official Julfikar Ali has submitted the report and recommended taking required action against the accused. Now the commission will make the final decision.”
Inquiry findings
According to his school certificate, ACC DG Kamrul Islam was born on January 1, 1960, so he was only 11 years old during the Liberation War. The National Freedom Fighter Council required one to be 16 to join the War.
Kamrul had not claimed himself as a freedom fighter when joining the government service and his name was also not found in the Mukti Barta. However, he possessed a fake freedom fighter’s certificate and submitted it to avail the facilities.
Director Abdul Aziz was 13 years old during the Liberation War; he also had not claimed to be a freedom fighter at the time of joining the job. The inquiry reveals that he had managed a certificate by tempering the PM’s signature.
Deputy Director Dhali Abdus Samad was one month short of 16 in 1971 but his name was not found in the Mukti Barta. The registration number he had provided claiming himself as a freedom fighter does not exist in the document, the ACC inquiry has found.
His name was not also found in the circular of the National Freedom Fighter Council published in 2010.
Golam Yahiya, who joined the erstwhile Bureau of Anti-Corruption, had not claimed himself as a freedom fighter at that time. But he managed a certificate through forgery and started enjoying the facilities.
He, however, gave back the allowance he had received during the extended tenure of his job to the ACC.
The commission has not yet made any decision regarding his involvement in the forgery.
