The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will take action if any official is found involved with wrongfully accusing Jahalam and putting him in jail for three years.
If found, no matter whether the error was intentional or unintentional, the official will face action, ACC Commissioner AFM Aminul Islam said on Tuesday.
The ACC has formed a high-powered committee which will submit a report in 20 working days, he said.
“Following a media report on February 26, I discussed the issue with the deputy director and the directors the following day and came to the decision that the cases against Jahalam will stay,” he added.
“We issued instructions to officers for further investigation, which found Jahalam not involved in the corruption. He was mistakenly named in place of Abu Salek for misappropriation of money,” said Aminul.
“After that we ordered the officials to submit the report to the court immediately. We also directed them not to oppose Jahalam’s bail petition,” he added.
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“There is no scope to deny that there has been some negligence,” Aminul said.
He claimed that ACC held several meetings over the matter since February 27 and took steps before an investigation was initiated by the National Human Rights Commission.
In further investigation, ACC found that the photograph provided during the opening of the bank account was Abu Salek’s, the real suspect in the corruption case. However, the address was changed in his National Identity Card to that of Jahalam’s.
“Abu Salek used to work at the NID project. That is why it was easy for him to do this forgery. He found a man’s photo that was similar to him and used his address,” the commissioner said.
Aminul said the police report found no one named after Abu Salek at that village in Tangail, but when two local Union Parishad chairmen saw the photo, they identified Jahalam.
Later, the investigation officer summoned bank officials who identified Jahalam as Abu Salek.
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“At that time, Jahalam did not mention that he was not Abu Salek,” said the ACC commissioner.
Jahalam was found innocent in second investigation.
Regarding the delay, he said many papers and evidence are needed to carry out an investigation.
“Investigators did not waste any time,” he said.
Asked whether Jahalam had any involvement in the actual crime, he said it will come out after further investigation.
“We will accept whatever decision the High Court takes over compensation,” he said.
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Regarding the promotion of the ACC officers who were involved in the first investigation, he said the promotion was given considering their performances in other cases.
“If anyone did this intentionally, they will not be spared,” he said.
“Be it our officers or other departments. If we find that bank officials missguided us, action will be taken against them too,” he added.
The ACC on February 4 formed a committee to investigate whether any of its officials were negligent in performing their duties for which wrongfully-accused Jahalam spent three years in jail.
Jute factory worker Jahalam spent three years behind bars after being wrongfully accused in 33 corruption cases. He was released from jail around 12.50am on Monday following a High Court order.
A High Court bench of Justices FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Kamrul Kader gave the orders, to release Jahalam, on February 3.
Jahalam was arrested on February 6 in 2016 after being mistaken for Abu Salek – the actual individual accused in the 33 cases that ACC had filed in 2014 over loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk18.5 crore from Sonali Bank Limited.
