The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against five individuals for their involvement in helping a Rohingya woman obtain a Bangladeshi passport using fake documents and false identity.
According to the ACC report submitted to the Cox's Bazar senior special judge’s court, the woman, originally a Rohingya from Myanmar named Nurunnahar Begum, falsely identified herself as Yasmin Akhter, a resident of Ward-2 of Cox’s Bazar Municipality, while applying for a passport on June 7, 2017.
She submitted forged documents, including a birth certificate, nationality certificate and other relevant papers, which were attested by local municipal officials.
The investigation revealed that former ward councillors Rafiqul Islam and Mizanur Rahman, in connivance with another Helal Uddin Badsha—who falsely claimed Yasmin as his sister—were directly involved in preparing and validating the falsified documents.
In addition, the then ASI Sajedur Rahman of the District Special Branch (DSB) approved the police verification for the passport.
The case was initially filed on March 25, 2021, by then ACC Deputy Assistant Director Md Sharif Uddin.
After a detailed investigation, the ACC submitted the charge sheet on Wednesday through Assistant Director Tushar Ahmed.
Among the seven accused, former inspector Prabash Chandra Dhar and former Ward-10 councillor Jabed Mohammad Kaiser Nobel were acquitted of the changes due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
ACC lawyer Abdur Rahim confirmed the submission of the charge sheet and said the court will soon set the next date of hearing.
