In less than a month, the government has cancelled 31 more fake freedom fighter certificates of public servants including a joint secretary and a senior official of Bangladesh Bank.
The Liberation War Affairs Ministry issued a gazette notification yesterday regarding the matter following the approval of the National Council of Freedom Fighters, widely known as Jatiya Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka).
The certificates of 35 other public servants were scrapped on July 21.
The steps were taken after those certificates had been proved to be false in the investigations conducted by the National Security Intelligence and the district administrations.
According to the gazette, it was found that the 31 officials and persons, who had taken provisional certificates from the ministry, were not real freedom fighters.
The high officials whose certificates have been cancelled are Joint Secretary Mahbubul Alam, who was placed under the Public Administration Ministry for further posting; Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Md Abdul Hamid; LGED Project Director SM Selim; Department of Public Health Engineering’s Supervising Engineer Md Sirajul Islam; Water Development Board’s Executive Engineer Md Saidur Rahman; and Civil Aviation Authority Director AKM Ataul Islam.
The certificates of Benapole Tax Officer Md Nazmul Kabir; Dhaka’s tax officers Nilufa Sultana and Mostaq Ahmed; Chittagong tax office’s retired stenotypist Alamgir Kabir Chowdhury; Chittagong Port Authority’s Chief Assistant Khan Sirajul Islam; its Lower Division Assistant Md Alauddin and former security inspector Fayez Kabir; Chittagong’s SI Niranjan Kumar Roy and Narsingdi’s Tally Clerk Md Abdur Rouf were also cancelled.
Gazipur’s Sub-Registrar Jasim Uddin Md Toufik Elahi and Sylhet District Registry Office’s Chief Assistant Md Masudul Haque; Kapasia’s Food Inspector Md Abdul Malek; Nababganj Upazila Health Complex former accountant Abdul Mannan; Faridpur Road Sub-Division’s Sub Assistant Engineer KM Abul Hossain; Narsingdi’s Assistant Agriculture Extension Officer Md Asaduzzaman and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Board’s retired accounts officers Manisha Ranjan Roy and SM Alauddin are among others who took provisional certificates from the ministry claiming that they had joined the 1971 Liberation War.
The government school teachers whose certificates were cancelled are assistant teachers of Norerkanda Primary School Abdur Rouf Mollah, Soratoil Primary School’s Matiar Rahman, West Shahpur Primary School’s Muhiuddin Morol; and Headmaster Khogendra Nath Saha of Badarghata Primaray School. The certificates of Hafizur Rahman, Wali Ahmed and Dr Minal Kanti Mitra were also cancelled for the same reason.
Many of the officials have already lost jobs while others will face departmental action. So far, a total of 147 fake certificates of public servants have been cancelled since 2009. The government is probing 500 other allegations.
