The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has begun interrogating eight more officials of the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, also known as Petrobangla, in a case filed over the disappearance of an immense quantity of coal from the Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur.
Shamsul Alam, deputy director of ACC and the investigating officer of the case, began the interrogation at ACC headquarters at 9:30am, Wednesday morning, said ACC spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.
The eight officials from Petrobangla are: former Managing Director of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL) Habib Uddin Ahmed; Managing Director (General Service) Masudur Rahman Hawlader; Manager (Production Management) Ashok Kumar Howlader; Manager (Maintenance and Operation) Arifur Rahman; Manager (Design, Construction and Maintenance) Jahidul Islam; Deputy Manager (Safety Management) Akramul Hoque; former General Manager (Exploration), Company Secretary Abul Kashem Prdania; and Mosharraf Hossain,.
Nine additional officials accused in the case will be interrogated on August 30. Thus far, 20 officials, including four managing directors, have been questioned by the ACC.
Meanwhile, on August 28, the anti-graft watchdog interrogated: General Manager of Mine Operations Abu Taher Mohammad Nuruzzaman Choudhury; Deputy General Manager AKM Khaledul Islam; Deputy Manager (Maintenance and Operations) Morsheduzzaman; Deputy Manager (Production Management) Habibur Rahman; Deputy Manager (Mine Development) Zahidur Rahman; Deputy Manager (Ventilation Management) Sattyndranath Barman; Deputy General Manager (Mine Planning Operations) Jobayer Ali; and Manager of Security Syed Imam Hasan.
The Barapukuria power plant was shut down on July 22 following the discovery of the mysterious disappearance of more than 142,000 tons of coal, worth around Tk230 crore, from the mine.
The coal had been intended for use by the nearby power plant, according to the official investigation.
A case listing 19 officials was filed with Parbatipur police station on July 24. The case was later transferred to the ACC for investigation.
On August 13, the ACC served notice to 32 Petrobangla officials requiring them to appear at ACC headquarters on August: 16, 28, 29, and 30.
On August 16, the seven Petrobangla officials interrogated were: Deputy General Manager (Maintenance and Contact Management) Nazmul Haque; Manager (Coal Handling Management) Shoyebur Rahman; Manager (Production Management) Syed Masud; Deputy Manager (Maintenance and Operations) Mahbub Hossain; Assistant Manager (Production Management) Moniruzzaman; Assistant Manager (Coal Handling Management) Md Mahbub Rashid; and Store Manager Md Didarul Kabir.
Earlier, on August 1, the commission grilled BCMCL former Managing Director SM Nurul Aurangzeb, and General Manager of Surface Operations Saiful Islam Sarkar.
